Aztecs Volleyball team lose at their last home game of the season

SDSU celebrates senior night as they end a chapter of their life.

by Abigail Segoviano, Staff Writer • November 17, 2022

Sports

San Diego State junior no. 2 Heipua Tautua’a attacks over Air Force no. 25 Mac Russ and no. 11 Caroline Reinkensmeyer during the second set on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Aztec Court at Peterson Gym in San Diego, Calif.

The San Diego State women’s volleyball team closed out its last home match of the season with a 3-0 loss against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

It was the last home match of the season which meant it was Senior Night in Peterson Gym. Coach Brent Hillard even gave three goody bags to the three opponent seniors. Hillard then gifted the three SDSU seniors a frame with a physical jersey with each player’s number. The seniors included opposite Kayla Rivera, setter Kennedy Feuerborn and setter Noa Miller. Each senior was accompanied by their family.

Throughout the game, the crowd was going back and forth cheering on the teams. The game was competitive with each team getting a kill back and forth.

Rivera had six kills in total throughout the game and had a great performance defensively and offensively. Rivera reflected on her last season as an Aztec and how she felt her performance was throughout the year.

“Being able to play for yourself with some pride and being aggressive no matter the environment,” Rivera said. “I think you lead by example by being consistent no matter the situation.”

The best advice she gave to the underclassmen for next season was to be tough in different ways.

“Stay mentally tough,” Rivera said. “A lot of outside sources can control what we’re doing on the court but if they just stay tough and play the game how they love it they could be more successful.”

Hillard said his seniors had a massive impact on the team this year.

“They were our best leaders, they’re the ones that take our team, mold them, and leave them with a culture that needs to be established for future teams and they did a great job with that,” Hillard said.

The team will be visiting the University of Nevada, Reno on Nov. 17 and then will be back in California to play against San Jose State on Saturday, Nov. 19 for the final game of the season. Despite their season ending on the road, they just want to make the best out of it.

“We want from our team is just some consistency, that is all we are looking for. They had the capability to do that on their last road trip,” Hillard said. “ I expect a little less pressure on them now that they’re on the road and then they can perform at a higher level.”

About the Contributor

Abigail Segoviano, '24-25 Mundo Azteca Editor

Originally from Richmond, California, Abigail Segoviano is a second-year student, majoring in Journalism with a minor in Spanish. This is Abigail’s second year at the Daily Aztec where she got the opportunity to expand her writing skills as a journalist. As a staff writer last year she had the opportunity to mainly cover the entire season of women’s volleyball and also covered a couple of games for women’s basketball. This year her main focus is to branch out and write for different sports. Additionally to get involved in other sections such as Multimedia and Mundo Azteca. Abigail is the Vice President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (SDSU Chapter). Abigail received an award from The Daily Aztec: “Consistent Contributor.” In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching sports, listening to music, and going on adventures with friends.