San Diego State volleyball (13-13, 8-7 Mountain West) fell short to the Colorado State Rams (17-8, 11-4 Mountain West) in four sets on Thursday night at Peterson Gym. The loss marks the Aztecs’ second straight loss and still leaves them tied for fourth in the MW with Grand Canyon University and Boise State University.
The Aztecs lost two of their starting players, junior opposite hitter Natalie Hughes and freshman setter Kendall Mairs, due to injuries, but that didn’t change the level of competition seen in Peterson Gym.
“Most of the sets were very competitive; we had our moments,” head coach Brent Hilliard said. “I thought our offense was our bright spot.”
Even with four players racking up double-digit kills, it wasn’t enough to slow down a strong Colorado State team, which currently finds itself second in the MW.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams. Junior outside hitter Ella Schabort helped spark momentum early on for the Aztecs, with a 4-0 serving run. Big kills from senior opposite hitter Taylor Underwood and senior outside hitter Madison Corf also contributed to the momentum. As the points went both ways, the early lead wasn’t enough to take down a balanced Colorado State roster, which pulled away with the first set 25-20.
Colorado State took an early 10-4 lead in the second set, forcing the Aztecs to make multiple errors. SDSU slowly clawed its way back, and back-to-back kills by Corf put the Aztecs within one point, making the score 16-15. Underwood capitalized on that energy, putting away four kills and forcing the Rams into a timeout at 20-20. However, the Rams held on in the match out of the timeout and took the set 25-23.
The Aztecs trailed the Rams for the beginning half of the third set, but didn’t go down without a fight. All-out defensive efforts by freshman libero Zara Stewart and kills from Schabort, Underwood and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Annelise Rising helped the Aztecs chip away at Colorado State’s lead, tying the match 21-21. Junior middle blocker Campbell Hague then took over, contributing a block, an ace and multiple kills to take the set 26-24.
Through the first three sets, Stewart contributed 15 digs, keeping the Aztecs alive and competitive, frustrating Colorado State’s offense to help secure the crucial third-set win.
“I just stayed in my position, played off blockers and just did my job,” Stewart said.
Despite strong defensive efforts, the Aztecs couldn’t slow down Colorado State at the net. The Aztecs fought to stay close in the fourth set, coming within five points of the Rams, but couldn’t finish the job. Colorado State ended the set 25-18, with a huge block to take the match 3-1.
Even though this wasn’t the outcome that the Aztecs wanted, they are already focusing on the last three games of conference play.
“Our mindset is to win all three,” Stewart said. “We need to be really competitive and just bring our game.”
With the upcoming Mountain West tournament, the Aztecs remain confident that they can make a run regardless of the loss.
“We’re sitting in a playoff spot right now, and so every win counts and every loss hurts,” Hilliard said. “Even with this loss, we’re still more than capable of getting into the Mountain West tournament and even getting a good seed if we win this next match.”
The Aztecs will take on the University of Wyoming at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Peterson Gym, with hopes of extending their season and securing a spot in the MW tournament.
