Every week The Daily Aztec will help San Diego State University fans get ready for the upcoming sports schedule with the Midweek Preview. Here is the calendar of Aztec athletics events for this week, all event times are in Pacific Time:
Thursday, Oct. 13
Women’s Soccer (6-3-5, 4-1-1) vs Nevada (3-7-3, 2-3-1), SDSU Sports Deck, 7 p.m.
The Aztecs open this round of Mountain West Conference action at the top of the table, three points clear of second place Boise State. The dynamic duo of sophomore Denise Castro (17 pts) and junior Emma Gaines-Ramos (16 pts) sit second and third in the conference in scoring, with Gaines-Ramos leading the conference in assists and Castro second in goals. Nevada has taken the second-fewest shots per game but fifth-year Kendal Stovall has the second-best save percentage and fourth-best goals against average among conference goalkeepers.
Volleyball (4-13, 2-4) vs Wyoming (6-12, 2-4), Aztec Court at Peterson Gym, 7 p.m.
San Diego State enters the weekend in a four-way tie for sixth in the conference. Sophomore Mikela Labno had a personal season-high of 16 kills in the Aztecs last match against Boise State. The Cowgirls have dropped their last two matches and will be playing just their sixth away from Laramie on the season. Junior outside hitter Naya Shimé leads Wyoming with 2.94 kills per set overall, while freshman middle blocker Tierney Barlow’ .398 hitting percentage is the third-best in MWC play.
Saturday, Oct. 8
Cross Country at Highlander Invitational, Riverside, 8:40 a.m.
SDSU returns to the Inland Empire after finishing sixth in the gold division at the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by Notre Dame their last time out. Senior Jessia Kain paced the Aztecs with a program record-setting time of 20:46.5 in their last 6k race at UC Riverside, as the team finished 14th out of a 31 team field. This event will be held at the same UCR Agricultural Operations Course where Kain broke the record and freshman Vanessa Cabello, senior Taylor Bailey-Lustyan, freshman Isabella Peretti, Lauren Harper and junior Amber Elias finished in the top half of the 265-woman field.
Volleyball vs Colorado State (12-5, 5-1), 1 p.m.
Senior opposite Kayla Rivera has averaged better than two kills per set over her last five matches, and leads the team with 159 points this season. The Rams entered this round of conference play in second place, and will face 0-6 in MWC play Fresno State on Thursday. CSU has the highest hitting percentage (.273), while holding their opponents to the lowest (.164) in Mountain West action. Both junior middle blocker Naeemah Weathers and senior outside hitter Annie Sullivan put away over 30% of their attack attempts, putting both in the top seven in conference play.
Men’s Soccer (4-6-2) vs San Diego (3-3-6), SDSU Sports Deck, 7 p.m.
This is the 25th Trolley Series Derby between the programs, with SDSU holding a 15-7-2 mark and looking for their first home win over the Toreros since 2016. The Aztecs have only been held scoreless in back-to-back matches once this season, with sophomore Donovan Roux recording an assist in each of the last four games SDSU has scored. University of San Diego have taken points in their last eight games (3-0-5) and outshoot their opponents by an average of 14.4-9.4 for the season. Senior midfielder Mason Tunbridge leads USD with five goals.
Sunday, Oct. 9
Women’s Soccer vs UNLV (3-8-3, 1-2-3), SDSU Sports Deck, Noon.
Coming into this weekend SDSU has picked up points in their last five matches, going 5-0-1 since dropping their conference opener to Colorado State on Sept. 22. During that span, the Aztecs have outscored their opponents 10-5. UNLV will be coming off a road test at New Mexico on Thursday, and entered this weekend third-bottom in the MWC. The Runnin’ Rebels have committed the second-fewest fouls and drawn the least bookings (two yellow cards) in conference play. Their leading goal scorers for the season are forwards senior Mimi Mendoza and freshman Cadence Whitley, who have two apiece.
