A packed Peterson Gym left Saturday’s game cheerful after the San Diego State volleyball team broke a two-game losing streak with a dominant win over Nevada 3-0.
The team hit the double-digits column with an overall record of 10-3 and moved back to a .500 conference record of 2-2. SDSU is coming off two five-set losses. Despite this standing, the team hopes the strong victory will carry through to the upcoming games.
“It was good of us to bounce back from Thursday’s loss, and I am proud of everybody,” middle blocker Shea Rubright said. “This is a big momentum thing going into the first half of conference play.”
“It was one of the better efforts we had all year against a team that has really challenged everyone else in our conference,” head coach Brent Hilliard said.
SDSU tallied 40 kills on 89 attempts with middle blocker Talea Mitchell leading the team with ten kills. Opposite hitters Taylor Underwood and Hague Campbell accounted for 16 kills with Underwood collecting nine kills.
The setter duo for the match was Fatimah Hall and Andrea Campos, and both players combined for 31 assists. Defensive specialist Gianna Bender and Campbell led the defensive side of the ball. Bender collected 12 digs, and Campbell protected the net with four team blocks.
The first set was a narrow 25-22 set, but the Aztecs maintained most of the control after going on an 11-6 run to make the score 15-10. The Wolf Pack slowly closed the gap and were two points behind the Aztecs late in the set 21-19. However, SDSU would not give them a chance to tie, closing the set 25-22.
The Aztecs took the lead early in the second set 5-3 after a successful challenge from Brent Hilliard. The Wolf Pack tied the game 9-9 after four unanswered points, but SDSU went on a 9-4 run to create an 18-13 lead. Again, the Wolf Pack struggled to close the gap, and the Aztecs closed the set 25-20
Closing the third set was a point of emphasis for the team, and SDSU kept its foot on the gas giving Nevada its biggest deficit of the game 25-15.
The Scarlet and Black did not allow Nevada to take a lead in the set. After building an 18-14 lead, the Aztecs went six points unanswered to run up the score 24-14 before ending the match with a kill from opposite hitter Jasmine Davis.
“We struggled with third sets in the past, and our mentality was to go out there and be aggressive,” Rubright said.
“Almost everyone in our conference has been going five sets every night, so we need to do ourselves a favor and when we have a team down, keep them down,” Hillard said.
SDSU moves to 1-0 against Nevada and will meet the Wolf Pack for a rematch next month on Nov. 14. Last season, SDSU was 1-1 against Nevada and swept the team in its previous meeting.
SDSU heads north on the road for a matchup with San Jose State. The Spartans are currently second in the standings with a 4-1 conference record after the current standing leader, Colorado State, shattered their undefeated record last week.
“A whole lot does not have to change because those teams are struggling the same (as us),” Hilliard said. “They are winning, but they are winning those (fifth sets). It’s anyone’s game in the fifth set.”
“We are just going to practice, learn from these last two matches and be aggressive, and hopefully come out with a win,” Rubright said.
Four games into conference play, the Mountain West currently has six teams with a 2-2 conference record. SDSU currently leads the bunch, placing third in the standings.
“It is the wild west, and it is wide open,” Hilliard said. “This (win) puts us back in the hunt and a good position,”
The Aztec and Spartans contest will be held on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
