San Diego State Women’s Volleyball released its 2021 fall schedule courtesy of head coach Brent Hilliard in a press release on Thursday. The Aztecs are coming off a season in which they finished 6-9 overall but 5-4 on their home court at Peterson Gym. For the upcoming season, they welcome 10 incoming freshmen, five returning letterwinners and all-Mountain West outside hitter Victoria O’Sullivan.
The Aztecs will have their sights set on the Sam Houston Tournament to kick off the regular season schedule with a trio of games on Aug. 27 to Aug. 28. The schedule then shifts back to the West Coast where they will compete in the Gaucho Invitational, including a matchup with Pepperdine, who finished 20th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association rankings this previous spring.
The first chance to see the Aztecs on the home court will be from Sept. 10 to Sept.11 — where they will square off with UCLA and USD — who finished 19th and 21st in the AVCA rankings, respectively. It will also be coach Hilliard’s first opportunity to face off against his former USD teammates.
Following a tournament at the University of Arizona, SDSU will begin conference play Sept. 23 at Nevada — who proved to be a tough opponent last season as the Aztecs lost both matches to the Wolfpack back in February.
The first conference match played at home comes in the form of a four-game set starting on Sept. 30. The Aztecs will play New Mexico, Air Force, UNLV and Fresno State all in a seven-day span.
SDSU then hits the road to take on the Broncos of Boise State on Oct.14 and Utah State on Oct.16. The Aztecs had arguably their most impressive victory against Boise State in the spring when they defeated the Broncos 3-2. Boise State won their previous four games without dropping a single set.
SDSU will play every conference opponent twice, home and away, with the exception of Colorado State and Wyoming — who will play the Rams at home and the Cowgirls on the road. In the spring season finale, the Aztecs had a decisive victory against the Rams, a team they hadn’t beaten since 2014.
The regular season wraps up on Nov. 20 at home against San Jose State, where the Aztecs will look to avenge a 0-3 loss they took at the hands of the Spartans in the spring.
The season will culminate with the Mountain West Championship in Las Vegas from Nov. 24 to Nov. 26 with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
