San Diego State volleyball is back in the 916 for their first set of home games before matching up against their Mountain West rivals. The Aztecs started with two local matchups, UC San Diego and University of San Diego, then finished off the weekend against Yale.
Although home court advantage was back in favor of the Aztecs, they couldn’t manage to walk away with a positive record, finishing 1-2 on the weekend.
Sweet sweet victory in home opener
The Aztecs (5-4) looked strong in their 2025 home opener after a dominant 3-1 victory against UC San Diego (1-9) on Sept. 18 at Peterson Gym. Following a loss to Long Beach State on Saturday, Sept. 13, SDSU was presented with an opportunity to get back in the win column against a struggling Triton roster.
Senior opposite hitter Taylor Underwood got the scoring started with a booming spike on the first point of the match. She went on to finish with a game high 18 kills, tying her season high. That was all the momentum the Aztecs needed en route to a 25-16 set one victory.
Set two presented a bigger challenge, but ultimately the Scarlet and Black pulled through, securing a 26-24 win. Despite UCSD’s improvement, senior outside hitter Madison Korf kept the ship steady for SDSU, finishing the match with 16 kills on an efficient .750 hit percentage.
“It was a team effort,” Korf said. “If I didn’t have the passing or the setters, I couldn’t have done it.”
The Tritons made some noise with a comfortable 25-18 set three win, but the Aztecs never let the match get out of hand.
With the score at 20-18 in the fourth set, freshmen setter Kendall Mairs held serve for five consecutive points to close out the game.The Aztecs bounced back after dropping a set, grabbing a competitive 25-18 victory and securing a match win.
“We’re impressed with our performance because that team gave us all we could handle,” said head coach Brent Hilliard.
Aztecs’ near comeback ends in five-set defeat
The Aztecs(5-5) fought hard in Friday’s match on Sept. 19 against the University of San Diego Toreros(7-3), but couldn’t complete their comeback in a gritty 3-2 loss.
The opening set established the tone for a back-and-forth battle, with both teams looking evenly matched. Ultimately, the Toreros finished the first set with an ace, 25-16.
Set two looked more promising for SDSU. The Aztecs were two points shy of a set victory when the Toreros rallied a 4-0 serving run to steal the lead and claim the set, 27-25.
“We need to come out a little stronger next time and maybe not let some soreness bug us,” Underwood said.
Hungry for a comeback, the Aztecs started set three with a considerable lead. Underwood contributed three consecutive kills, cushioning the Aztecs’ lead at 8-0, and adding to her season-high total of 19 kills. USD appeared to be succumbing to pressure, giving up a free point from an out-of-rotation call. Ultimately, the Aztecs kept their lead, securing a hard-fought third-set victory, 25-16.
Set four resembled the opener, with long rallies and scrappy defense on both sides of the net. This time, the Aztecs came out on top, 25-20, forcing a decisive fifth set.
USD started the fifth set out strong with a 3-0 lead. Despite calling a challenge on match point, the Aztecs fell short of victory, and the Toreros closed out the match, 15-9.
“Even though we lost, we played two tough matches,” Hilliard said. “We’ll recover from it. We’ll rebound.”
Tough finish to home stand
The Aztecs(5-6) concluded their three-game home slate in a lopsided loss against the Yale Bulldogs(4-4) on Sept. 20, 3-0. Yale’s head coach Erin Appleman is no stranger to SDSU, playing setter for the Aztecs in 1988 and 1989.
The Scarlet and Black started the match on fire, leading 6-1 with a combined four kills from Korf and Underwood. However, the Bulldogs fought to keep themselves in the set, tying it up, 14-14. The remainder of the set was competitive throughout, but Yale edged out a first set victory, 26-24.
“They’re well coached and they’ve got great athletes,” Hilliard said. “We didn’t match their energy…we were a step slow and they were making us pay for it.”
The second set got away from the Aztecs quickly after Yale took an early 12-6 lead. This trend remained true as the Bulldogs finished off a dominant second set, not allowing any momentum to creep onto SDSU’s side for a commanding 25-14 win.
“We just needed to keep swinging high and I think we can get back in the gym and work on that,” Underwood said.
The third set showed to be similar to the first with a tight battle at the start, 13-13, after a monstrous block from junior middle blocker Amber Keen. But the Bulldogs went on a four-point run late in the set to eventually complete the sweep, 25-21. Underwood led the attack with 14 kills, alongside freshman setter Kendall Mairs who tallied 19 assists on the day.
Despite back-to-back losses at home, the Aztecs are eager and confident heading into conference play.
“I’m honestly feeling so good going into conference play,” Underwood said. “I’m really confident in how we’re playing. Today might not have been the best game but that happens to every team.”
SDSU sets off for another lengthy road trip, where they’ll first travel to the Save Mart Center to take on Fresno State in their first Mountain West Conference matchup on Sept. 25.
