The San Diego State women’s volleyball team had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving as it made history by winning the program’s first Mountain West Championship. The team defeated the University of Nevada, Reno in three sets (25-13, 25- 11, 25-17) at Aztec Court last Tuesday evening. The defeat of the Wolf Pack marks the Aztecs’ 12th consecutive victory as they improved their record to 23-7 overall and 13-3 in conference play. SDSU went undefeated on the home court, ending with a perfect 14- 0 record.
Junior setter Johnna Fouch had a well-rounded stat line as she led the team with 34 assists, eight digs, two kills, two blocks and a service ace. So far this season, Fouch accumulated a jaw-dropping 1,017 assists. Junior outside hitter Raegan Shelton led the team with 12 kills, while chipping in two blocks and three digs in the win. Senior middle blocker Andrea Hannasch had a solid impact on the court, recording seven kills, a block and six digs. Hannasch leads the red and black in the kills column this season with 343 kills in 118 sets played. Hannasch was almost speechless postgame.
“Honestly, words can’t describe it. It has been a long time coming. Every year we feel like we have gotten close and this year we knew it was coming,” Hannasch said. “We peaked at the end of season and that is where it mattered. It’s great, so exciting.”
The Aztecs outperformed the Wolf Pack in every statistical category and by almost double in the kills’ column, recording 45 kills compared to Nevada’s 22. SDSU finished the game with a .327 team attack percentage. Head coach Deitre Collins-Parker was proud of her team, especially the seniors.
“It was four years coming together. I’m really excited for the seniors to have started with me and to believe in what we were doing. Getting to this point was our goal all along and hopefully keep going and continuing playing,” Collins-Parker said. “We aren’t ready for this to be over yet.”
SDSU shares the overall Mountain West title with Colorado State. The Rams defeated New Mexico Friday evening 3-1, putting their MW record at 13-3. The Rams earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament since winning the tiebreaker against the Aztecs’ earlier this season.
Sunday afternoon, the Aztecs came together and after waiting anxiously they received an at- large invitation to the 2012 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. SDSU will face off against Saint Mary’s College of California in the first round of the tournament on Thursday at the University of Southern California’s Galen Center in Los Angeles, The last time SDSU made it into the tournament was in 2001, where it lost in the opening round to Long Beach State.
