Much like the Colossus, Space Mountain and the Viper, the SanDiego State women’s volleyball season was filled with an array ofquick whips and turns.
“This season was a roller coaster for us,” said junior AmyHallquist. “It was filled with a lot of ups and downs, but overall wetook a lot from it.”
Coming off of a 5-23 campaign in 1998, the Aztecs were intent uponimproving a roster full of youngsters. Of the 14 players to step onthe court in 1999, three were seniors: Lisa Bostian, Nicole Curtisand Jamie Evans.
The team also knew that it was lacking a big-time hitter thatcould take over a game by herself.
“We don’t have a dominant hitter … so we have to try and spreadthe ball around,” said SDSU head coach Mark Warner.
When Curtis, a three-year starting middle blocker went down with aknee injury early in the season, a slew of playing time opened up.Juniors Erin Grady and Nadia Privara had experience, but neither hadstarted. Then, Privara went down with an injury (Sept 22).
Despite the injuries, Warner had thought that the middle blockerposition had the most depth on the team. Grady and freshman NicoleAkporiaye helped prove him right.
Grady averaged 1.16 blocks per game while Akporiaye (.99 bpg) wassharp too. At times, both were down right dominating. Akporiayeearned the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors for herplay in the last week of October.
In back-to-back five set wins, the frosh had nine blocks whileGrady reached the nine block plateau three times.
“Weblocked pretty well, especially Erin,” Warner said. “Nicole got asmuch experience as she did and she continued to improve all year.”
With the injury to Curtis, Warner was forced to change the offenseearly in the season. Bostian, the starting setter agreed to move tothe right side of the front row.
Despite changing positions, Bostian didn’t let the move affect heror the team as she averaged 1.69 kills per game and 4.35 assists.
“Lisa was able to unselfishly go into a hitting position … shestill went hard and was able to step in when needed,” Warner said.
Stepping in as setter was sophomore Melissa Dickson. Over theseason, Dickson average 7.33 assists per game.
“I think that we improved there the whole season,” Warner said.”Obviously we had to make a change … Dickson took over and didbetter as the season wore on.”
Despite seeing time mainly as a backrow specialist in 1998, Evanstook over as the team’s outside hitter. Off the court, Evans led theAztecs by preparing for the season with a grueling workout program,including waking up a 5 a.m. during the summer.
As the team’s MVP on the court, Evans averaged 2.97 kills per gameand 2.5 digs per game.
“You look for the seniors to set a standard for work ethic,”Warner said. “Jamie had a great year.”
“She’s a good role model for those of us who tend to slack off,”Grady said. “She really wanted it.”
Also seeing a good portion of time at outside hitter wasHallquist, who had a team-high 22 kills against Creighton (Sept 12).On the season, Hallquist averaged 2.34 kills per game.
“We had pretty good kill production … but we didn’t hit for ahigh enough percentage,” Warner said of his squad’s .169 hittingpercentage. The Aztecs opponent hit at a .233 clip for the season.
The team was heavily dependent upon its serving and passingskills. A key part of that was backrow specialist Jessica Allen (1.93digs per game), who featured a jump serve that had more spin than aRoger Clemens split-fingered fastball.
“We started talking about serving tough last spring and the girlspicked up pretty well,” Warner said.
Another key component was all-around play from sophomore KatieMagnuson (1.9 dpg), who played in 80 matches. The team also receivedsolid contributions from Melissa Cansdale, Brooke Dinardo, ChristyPfrenzinger and Monet Solberg.
Despite an overwhelming schedule full of heavy hitters, the Aztecsmanaged to stay focused all season. Without a doubt, the team’schemistry kept them going throughout the season. It almost, carriedthem to an upset victory over Utah in the first round of the MWCTournament (Nov 24).
“We had a lot more fun than we did in the past,” Grady said. “Wemeshed better and it helps when you don’t get down on each other.”
With only three seniors leaving the team, SDSU looks to field awinner next season.
“We’re going to have 19 or 20 quality players in the program nextyear,” Warner said. “Considering our schedule, I think we did apretty good job this year.”
