Diving across the goal, Tiaare Ahovelo is trying her best to keep her team in the game, but to no avail.

Two huge penalty saves in the fourth period couldn’t stop the No. 13 Indiana Hoosier women’s water polo team from claiming a 15-7 win over No. 24 San Diego State on Saturday, March 9.

“Penalties are usually almost a guaranteed goal,” said head coach Dana Ochsner. “She blocked three yesterday and two or three today. She’s protecting her house, that’s all I can ask of a goalie.”

Ahovelo, a sophomore from New Zealand, had a strong start at the Aztec Aquaplex over the weekend’s Aztec Invitational.

Ahovelo started with a career-high 16 saves against No. 22 CSUN on Friday. Her performance helped the Aztecs pull off an 11-8 win over the Matadors, their only victory of the tournament.

Ahovelo followed her 16-save game with a five-save performance in the Aztec’s loss to Indiana. She then made six saves against Stanford in a 20-3 loss for SDSU against the No. 3-ranked team in the nation.

In the last game of the Aztec Invitational against No. 19 Harvard, Ahovelo made 12 saves to keep the Aztecs competitive despite an 16-11 loss that cemented their 1-3 record for the tournament.

The Aztecs now sit at 11-10 on the season with a 2-4 home record at the Aztec Aquaplex.

The team will return to the pool and open Gold Coast Conference play on Saturday, March 16 at Fresno State.