The San Diego State volleyball team cruised to a victory over the Wyoming Cowgirls at Aztec Court in Peterson Gym. The team improved to 5-3 in conference play as they took down a fellow Mountain West opponent.
Taylor Underwood led the team in Kills with 14, the only player with double-digit kills for SDSU. Jasmine Davis was second on the team with nine kills, and Shea Rubright was third with seven kills.
Underwood spoke about the team’s performance after the game and how they saw the ball so well.
“I think we were just really flowing really well,” Underwood said. “The center and hitter connection was great today.”
The first set was a back-and-forth match between SDSU and Wyoming. The Cowgirls pulled ahead briefly with a 7-9 lead, but the Aztecs were able to come back.
SDSU eventually tied the score at 11 and pulled ahead with an 18-13 lead. Wyoming began to mount a comeback by cutting the score to 22-20.
Despite their best effort, SDSU was able to hang on and win the first set 25-23 after a kill by Andrea Campos to end the set.
Much like the first set, both teams kept the score close at the beginning of the second set. The Aztecs eventually jumped out to a 13-11 lead before scoring four consecutive points to extend their lead to 17-11.
The team continued to dominate the second set and went on another scoring spree after a service error by Wyoming. SDSU would score five times in the next six plays to extend their lead to 22-14.
Wyoming was unable to mount a comeback or gain any momentum toward the end of the set as the Aztecs continued to maintain their lead.
SDSU would go on to win the second set 25-16 as the game would end on a kill by Underwood. San Diego State now had a 2-0 lead as they entered the third set.
Head coach Brent Hilliard talked about the team after they dominated the second set.
“The first set wasn’t super pretty,” Hilliard said. “I had a feeling they would snap back and get to that level that they played at.”
The Aztecs continued to dominate the match by jumping out to an early 6-3 lead to begin the third set.
With their backs against the wall, Wyoming would not go away easily as they were able to tie the game at 6. However, SDSU was able to maintain control of the game and take the lead once again with the score at 9-6.
After a Rubright service error, SDSU went on another scoring spree by collecting seven consecutive points which extended their lead to 16-7.
After a Wyoming timeout, the Cowgirls tried to claw their way back into the game. They eventually cut the lead to 19-13, but SDSU still had the momentum.
Wyoming eventually got the lead down to five towards the end of the set. With the score at 23-18, a kill by Davis set up the match point for SDSU. A service error by Wyoming ended the game as SDSU won the set 25-19 and the match 3-0.
Coach Hillard talked about how the team stayed focused late in the game as Wyoming began to come back.
“We tried to keep them settled,” Hilliard said. “We were just trying to settle everybody’s nerves to make sure they stayed focused.”
The win against Wyoming is the Aztecs’ second consecutive victory after losing to Fresno State. This is the sixth time this season that SDSU has swept their opponent.
Their next match against UNLV is on Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. in San Diego at Aztec Court inside Peterson Gym.