By Beau Bearden, Senior Staff Writer

After dropping a tough contest to Air Force last Thursday, the San Diego State volleyball team used an outstanding offensive performance against UNLV to even up its Mountain West Conference record.

SDSU’s .376 hitting percentage and double-figure kills from a trio of players was more than enough to defeat the Rebels 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) on Saturday afternoon in the Cox Pavilion.

“I’m just really glad we responded after a bad loss to Air Force,” head coach Deitre Collins-Parker said. “I think (Saturday) got us back on track to finish the season playing the best volleyball we can and continuing to get better.”

Both teams battled in the opening set, but it was the Aztecs (10-11, 4-4 MWC) who gained the momentum midway through. With an 11-10 lead, SDSU notched seven of the next eight points. UNLV wasn’t out of it though, and slowly closed the gap. The Aztecs appeared to have the set in hand with a 24-20 lead, but the Rebels scored the next three points to make things interesting. However, after a timeout by Collins-Parker, SDSU was able to finish off UNLV.

The Aztecs were a completely different team in the next set, jumping out to a big lead and never looking back. SDSU was very successful on offense, hitting .419 compared to the Rebels’ .282 attack percentage. Sophomore middle blocker Andrea Hannasch and junior outside hitter Kyley Sexton each contributed five kills in leading the Aztecs to a 25-18 win.

The third set was even more contested than the first, with both teams matching each other point for point down the stretch. However, SDSU gained an 18-11 lead and appeared to have the upper hand. But UNLV battled as it did in the first set to bring the team within one point. The Aztecs wouldn’t allow them to get any closer though, and pulled off the 25-21 victory to beat the Rebels.