From Oct. 1 to Oct. 27, the Aztec women’s volleyball team (8-18, 6-9 MW) were on a rough stretch of losses, winning only one of the eight Mountain West games in which the team played over that period.
Since the loss on Oct. 27 against Colorado State who stands third in the conference, the Aztecs have been revived, winning three of their last four matches.
“The season has been going great lately. The team has been getting better” head coach Brent Hillard said. “We’ve had a lot of wins in the recent weeks and the freshmen are growing up.”
First, on Oct. 29, the Aztecs defeated Wyoming 3-1 behind four Aztec players who achieved 10 kills or more. Senior Kayla Rivera led the way with her season-high of 13 kills, freshman Madison Corf sat in second with 11, and both senior Julia Haynie and junior Heipua Tautua’a were tied with 10. The win also ended a seven-match losing streak to Wyoming dating back to Sept. 29, 2018.
Next, the Aztecs defeated Boise State 3-1 on Nov. 3 for their second win in a row. Rivera again led the way for the Aztecs, tieing her season-high 13 kills. Senior Noa Miller’s contributions were not to be forgotten either, leading her team with 23 assists.
On Nov. 5, the Aztecs glee was cut short when they lost 1-3 to Utah State at Peterson Gym.
Although they did not secure the win, Rivera and Corf shined during the match. The two Aztecs led the team in kills with Rivera earning 12 and Corf earning eight.
“It was a really intense serving-pass game for both teams,” Rivera said. “I think both sides were serving really tough. When we did get that pass, it was really important for me to just score and take advantage of that opportunity”.
Ahead of their next game, a Nov. 7 matchup with Fresno State who are last-place in the conference, Rivera showed optimism that the Aztecs would bounce back from the tough loss.
“We have to keep fighting, we’ve been working a lot this season on being tough and pushing hard in the games that are close, so hopefully we can just power through and finish,” Rivera said.
A total of 25 errors ruined the Aztecs’ night against Utah State. Rivera emphasized that if the Aztecs were to bounce back, they would have to limit the errors, take care of easy plays, and “not hand over some free points.”
Against Fresno State, the Aztecs indeed improved on their mistakes, putting on a dominant performance to win 3-0 on Nov. 7. The Aztecs almost halved the amount of errors they had during the loss against Utah, with only 13. The win completed a season sweep against Fresno for the first time since 2015.
The dominant duo of Corf and Rivera continued to strike fear into their opponents. Corf scored the highest number of kills for the Aztecs with 15 while Rivera was right behind her with 9. Miller put on another assist masterclass with 26 while freshman Ellie Geoghegan earned a career-best four service aces. The win was also the Aztecs’ second-best hitting percentage of the season with a .323 efficiency.
Next, the Aztecs will play their last home game of the season against the University of Las Vegas on Nov. 10 in Peterson Gym at 7 p.m. The Aztecs will also honor their seniors during their final match at Peterson Gym.
