Women’s volleyball wins first home match of the year against San José State

The Aztecs win 3-1 in a match to even their record for the start of the Mountain West conference season

by Nicole Nash, Contributor • September 24, 2023

The San Diego State Aztecs celebrate their first home game win at Aztec Court at Peterson Gym. SDSU won three sets in a row in the Aztecs 3-1 win vs. San Jose State on Saturday, Sept. 23.

The San Diego State women’s volleyball team brought high energy to their 3-1 win against San José State in their first Mountain West home match on Saturday, Sept. 23 at Peterson Gym.

After losing the first set 14-25, SDSU (6-7 overall and 1-1 in Mountain West) came back and won three sets in a row to seal their first conference win.

“For our team, it’s usually not that difficult. Just because we connect so well off of the court that when we get on the court, it works out,” libero McKenna Douglas said. “Pulling each other up is super easy.”

Douglas had 12 digs — the second-most for the Aztecs in the match. Senior transfer Bailey Darnell came off the bench with 13 digs to lead SDSU.

The Aztecs came back in the second set to win a close result. San José State (9-6 overall and 0-2 in Mountain West) gave up a point with a missed serve to even the score to 23-23. SDSU did the same one point later, which tied the score again to 24-24. However, the Aztecs pulled through and ended the set 26-24 on a block by junior Elly Schraeder.

“We try to work on it in practice, it’s hard to simulate that type of intensity and the crowd and everything,” said head coach Brent Hilliard. “So that’s just live and learn, and we had another day of it. We’ve had a bunch of those lately and we’ve gotten better.”

In the third set, the Aztecs paid the Spartans back with a score of 25-18, taking the lead early and never losing control of the match. SDSU had three streaks of three or more points scored in the set.

In the fourth and final set, the Aztecs and Spartans were close again, putting up their best effort. The teams were tied seven times during the set, with neither showing signs of backing down.

SDSU pulled ahead of San José State with a score of 23-21 when Taylor Underwood put away a kill. The last point was awarded to the Aztecs when a block by the Spartans went out of bounds, with the celebration delayed by a review.

After confirmation, Underwood’s kill sealed the first win of the Mountain West season for SDSU.

The Aztecs will be on the road for the next two matches, beginning at 7 p.m. on Sept. 28 at Colorado State.

About the Contributors

Nicole Nash, Staff Writer

Nicole Nash is a third-year Journalism major from Torrance, California. She is minoring in TFM (Television, Film, and New Media). She is interested in sports journalism and hopes to learn about the industry during her time at the Daily Aztec. Her favorite sport to keep up with is baseball. Her interests include outdoor activities like surfing and snowboarding, attending sporting events, and exploring new places.

Sumaia Wegner, '23-24 Managing Editor

Originally from Santa Clarita, California, Sumaia Wegner is a is a double major, studying Journalism and Communication. She started as a staff writer for The Daily Aztec, then became Arts and Culture Editor, and is now the current Managing Editor. Aside from her leadership role, Sumaia is also a reporter for the men's basketball team. Last year she covered the Mountain West Championship as well as the NCAA Championship. Sumaia is the president of the Asian American Journalists Association (SDSU Chapter) as well as the vice president of Culture and Diversity for SDSU's College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts. She started her career as a journalist while she was traveling abroad in Bangladesh, where she was a writer for The Independent newspaper. She wrote for the “Youth and Independent” section focusing on narratives that evaluated eastern and western cultures. Sumaia has received the following awards for The Daily Aztec: "The Inspirer," "Quest for Excellence," and "Best Section."