They gave, and they gave and they gave. They gave everything theyhad, but it just wasn’t enough.
San Diego State put everything it had out on the court againstColorado State in the Mountain West Tournament semifinals. But aftergiving so much the previous night to defeat New Mexico, SDSU didn’thave enough left to give against the Rams.
“We couldn’t stay with them,” said Aztecs coach Mark Warner. “Theyare a tough team.”
It was an unenviable task SDSU faced in taking on CSU on its homecourt. The Rams finished the regular season 27-2 overall, 13-1 inconference and 14-0 at home, losing only one game in Moby Arena.
Going into the tournament, they had won an NCAA-best 42consecutive home matches. The previous night, while the Aztecs wentto war against New Mexico, CSU barely broke a sweat. The Ramsobliterated Air Force in three games by a combined score of 45-3.
SDSU had to overcome a 2-1 deficit against the Lobos in theopening round, winning in five games, 12-15, 15-9, 12-15, 15-8, 15-9.
The match was grueling not only because of its length (two and ahalf hours), but also because of the team’s inability to find anyrhythm on offense.
The Aztecs finished the match with a .134 hitting percentage,nearly 100 points off their season average.
Senior Amy Hallquist led SDSU with 24 kills as three other Aztecsscored double figures. Seniors Erin Grady and Monet Solberg added 10each, while freshman Aspen McPartland banged out 15. She also scoredon four service aces and made 17 digs to lead the team.
With the offense unable to fire consistently, the defense made thedifference. SDSU held New Mexico to a .132 hitting percentage. TheAztecs had six players with 10 or more digs and scored eight blocks,led by Grady with five.
Going into the match against CSU, it seemed as if the Rams wouldhave a decisive edge. Not only were they playing in front of morethan 1,800 home fans, CSU was coming off a cake walk while SDSUendured a marathon match.
Solberg said the team wasn’t fatigued, however, after having thefull day to rest.
The Aztecs came out gunning, showing much more fire than they hadthe night before. At times, however, both teams fired a bit wildly.
SDSU hit .105 for the first game with nine hitting errors. Maybeit was anxiety. Maybe it was the thin air that can do funny things tothe ball’s movement or maybe it was CSU’s blocking that caused theerrors. Whichever the case, the same apparently applied to the Ramsas they hit only .109.
The Aztecs defense forced CSU into three consecutive hittingerrors that allowed SDSU to tie the first set at 12. The Rams wereable to stop the Aztecs’ momentum there, however, and won game one15-12.
Blocking was key in the second game, as three Grady blocks helpedSDSU take a 12-8 lead. The Rams were able to wrestle the momentumaway again, though, led by Krista Swartzendruber with two big killsand a block down the stretch, as CSU again took the game 15-12.
By the third game, the Aztecs’ gas tank seemed to be running onempty.
“We gave up on ourselves a little,” said Solberg.
SDSU still attacked strongly, but the Rams defense stepped up. CSUturned Moby Arena into an archaeological site – they dugeverything in site. Virtually everything the Aztecs had to offer, theRams were able to get in front of.
“We tried to come out strong, and we did in the first two(games),” McPartland said. “We just didn’t come out as strong as wewanted (in the third game). They did.
“When you play a team as strong as they are, it’s hard to comeback.”
CSU stormed out to a 13-2 lead before taking the deciding game15-5.
Solberg, who led SDSU with 11 kills against CSU, said even afterseven straight hard-fought games, physical fatigue wasn’t much of afactor in the third game against the Rams.
“If anything, it was mental fatigue,” she said.
McPartland agreed that the match against New Mexico didn’t tirethe team.
“I don’t think it took anything out of us,” she said. “Ifanything, we knew we had to play harder against CSU.”
McPartland, the runner-up for MWC Freshman of the Year, earned hera spot on the All-Tournament team with her strong serving anddefense. She was the only Aztec to earn that honor.
“It’s great,” she said, “I wasn’t expecting that at all.”
Said Warner of her play: “Her play all the way around the courtwas excellent. She had a lot of digs and served really well in theNew Mexico match … it gave us a lot of momentum in that match whichwe needed.”
In the finals of the tournament on Saturday evening, the Rams hadtheir 44-home match win streak snapped when BYU upset them in fivegames. The Cougars will automatically advance to the NCAA Tournament.
CSU as well as Utah will also likely get in because of theirtop-25 status.
As for the Aztecs, Warner said they will certainly have to beatUSD tomorrow night.
“It will be tough,” he said. “We’re going to have to be on top ofour game. I’m expecting a tough match.
“The commissioner of the conference, Craig Thompson, told us thatwe were being talked about. We know they’re considering us.”
