Despite putting up a good fight, the San Diego State volleyball team lost to Colorado State in just three sets on Saturday afternoon.
The first set ended 25-18, the second set 25-15 and the third and final set 25-21. This is the third straight loss for SDSU, putting it at a 4-12 overall and 1-3 in Mountain West play.
For CSU, this was its fifth straight victory, pushing it to 11-3 overall and 4-0 in conference.
Even in the big loss, some players were able to shine. Freshman outside hitter Alexandra Psoma led the team (and all players on the court) with 11 kills, along with three digs and a block.
Junior middle blocker Emma Fuzie had seven kills, three blocks and SDSU’s only service ace of the match. Senior middle blocker Kaja Sandberg and freshman middle blocker Deja Harris each contributed four blocks, while sophomore defensive specialist Danielle Bolden had four kills from the back row.
Bolden said SDSU is still trying to find its groove as one of the younger teams in the conference.
“It’s a work in progress to always stay calm against higher teams,” she said. “But we don’t even notice numbers or rankings, we just see competition as competition no matter what the rankings are.”
Head coach Deitre Collins-Parker is still focused on figuring her team out and trying new things on the court.
“We’re still trying to really develop,” she said. “I think we struggled offensively, and I think our defense all year long has kept us in the game. At this point, we are just trying to work on us and trying not to be too stressed.”
The Aztecs made some fantastic defensive plays, but a few errors and missed offensive opportunities caused them to lose their edge against CSU.
They gave the Rams a scare in the third set, building up to a 15-9 lead before the score eventually became tied 17-17. From there, CSU regained its dominance to take the match 25-21.
Bolden thinks having Collins-Parker as the team’s leader will help it work out its kinks.
“She gives really constructive feedback,” Bolden said. “So we always look to her in a time of need and she always gives us an answer. She’s very passionate about us and we couldn’t be more thankful.”
This week, the Aztecs will be on the road again to face off against UNLV and Fresno State. SDSU still has a lot of conference games left to figure out what works best for its young team.
