The San Diego State women’s volleyball team leaves the Air Force Academy relieved after a first-set scare by the Falcons (1-11) last night. However, an unwavering performance from the Aztecs earned the team a win to start Mountain West play. The win moves SDSU to an overall record of 9-2 in the season and continues a five-game winning streak.
The team rallied to 49 kills, with two Aztecs hitting double digits. Opposite hitter Cara Davis led the team with 12 kills and opposite hitter Taylor Underwood was behind with 11. SDSU relied on setters Andrea Campos and Sarena Gonzalez to set the offense up. The duo combined for 38 assists, with Campos leading the team with 22 assists.
On the defensive side, the team collected 13.5 blocks, with middle blocker Shea Rubright accounting for five. Gianna Bender shielded the team’s side of the ball as the defensive specialist recorded 22 digs.
SDSU began the game going back and forth with the Falcons. The Aztecs’ struggles began after they took a 10-9 lead. The Falcons’ momentum gained traction after scoring six unanswered points to climb to 10-15. From that point, SDSU was outscored 6-10, ending the set 16-25.
SDSU had nine kills on 26 attack attempts and recorded a .154 hitting percentage in the first set. There was frustration from SDSU early in the game with a few calls from the officiating crew. This resulted in two challenges being called by head coach Brent Hilliard. While the first challenge did not go in favor of SDSU, Hilliard was successful with his second.
After an upsetting first set, SDSU regrouped and responded with a dominant second set. The Aztecs created a huge gap, taking a 17-6 lead midway through the set and closing it 25-12. The team generated 17 kills in the set and had a .500 hitting percentage.
However, the momentum returned to the Falcons, taking an early 5-10 lead in the third set. Both teams would go back and forth with SDSU trying to close the gap. Following a timeout, SDSU closed the gap by scoring four unanswered points to take a late advantage of 20-19. The momentum did not stop for the Aztecs as the team closed the set 25-20.
SDSU, again, dominated the Falcons to close the game. The Scarlet and Black did not allow the Falcons to surpass 13 points for the second time in the game and left the Falcons in the dust 25-13.
The Aztecs will not meet the Falcons again until their last home game of the season. With a young Falcon team, SDSU expects to see a more experienced team in its next meeting.
Their next contest is on the road, facing the University of New Mexico on Saturday, Sept. 28 at noon in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
