San Diego State volleyball defeated the University of San Diego in three sets (25-15, 25-19, 25-23) on Tuesday night at Peterson Gym.
Following a 13-game losing streak, the Aztecs have now won their second game in a row. Head coach Deitre Collins-Parker said it is nice to see her team’s hard work result in wins.
“As a coach, the only thing you want from your players is to reap the rewards of the work that they put in every day,” she said. “The confidence that they have now moving forward after these two wins is really important.”
The win was the Aztecs first against USD since 2012, and their first three-set sweep of their crosstown rivals since 1999.
Senior middle blocker Deja Harris said it felt good to finally best the Toreros.
“We definitely want to be the best team in San Diego,” she said. “ We’ve always had that chip on our shoulder when it comes to our cross-city rivals, it was a very significant win for us.”
Harris said the team’s consistency is what led them to victory.
“A volleyball game is so quick, the momentum could switch in a second,” she said. “We stayed consistent, we didn’t have our highs and our lows, we just stayed consistent, calm and collected. And that’s why we got the dub tonight.”
SDSU posted a .410 hitting percentage, its best since 2012. Junior outside hitter Ashlynn Dunbar went a perfect 4-for-4 on her attacks and led the Aztecs with 11 kills.
The Aztecs won the first two sets, before withstanding a third-set comeback by the Toreros, who went on a 5-2 run to turn a 20-16 game to a 22-21 game.
SDSU was able to pull ahead after Dunbar and junior outside hitter Hannah Turnlund came in clutch to secure the victory.
Although the Aztecs led for most of the game, Dunbar said it was important to stay composed.
“We knew what kind of team (USD) was,” she said. “We knew that we’re a very emotional team. We can start getting frustrated and break down, so we knew that we had to focus on our side, keep each other up, and stay hype.”
SDSU goes on the road for the next two games, facing Boise State on Oct. 4 and Utah State on Oct. 6.
