The San Diego State women’s volleyball team were dominated by the Air Force Falcons in a sweep at USAF Academy on Saturday, Oct. 28.
The Aztecs (8-15, 3-9 in Mountain West Conference) lost all three sets with scores of 17-25, 18-25 and 18-25.
Early in the first set, the Falcons scored 5 unanswered points, putting the Aztecs in a 9-3 hole. After a timeout by head coach Brent Hilliard, the struggles continued for the Scarlet and Black. A net violation and a service error contributed to the Aztecs’ largest deficit of the set as they trailed 17-9.
However, the Aztecs did not relent as setter Fatima Hall nailed a service ace, cutting the lead to 21-16. Soon after the service ace, it was all Falcons as they finished on a 4-1 run to take the first set.
In the second set, the Aztecs kept pace with the Falcons early.
Middle blocker Julia Haynie generated back-to-back service aces to tie up the score at 6-apiece. Haynie also started the game five-for-five on attacks.
The Aztecs’ offense struggled to establish opposite hitter Taylor Underwood, who led the team in kills heading into this match.
It was not until midway through the second set when Underwood came up with her first kill of the game to cut the Falcons’ lead to 17-11.
The Scarlet and Black continued to trail as they committed a service and an attack error to put the Falcons at set point.
The Aztecs finished the second set with an attack error that went out of bounds, which put them in a 0-2 deficit.
SDSU started the third set with a service ace by defensive specialist McKenna Douglas that gave the Scarlet and Black an early 3-1 lead.
With the score at 9-apiece, the Aztecs committed two more attack errors and another service error. A service ace by the Falcons put SDSU in a 17-11 predicament.
Late in the set, another attack error that went out of bounds put the Aztecs in a 23-16 deficit.
SDSU — having 24 attack errors — forced three set points thanks to a kill by Underwood and a block by Hall, but the final kill of the afternoon by the Falcons completed the sweep.
No Aztecs finished with double-digit kills in the contest. Hall collected a team-high 13 assists, while Douglas recorded nine digs.
The Aztecs return home to face Nevada at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 2 at Peterson Gym.
