Aug. 30, 2002
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State opened its 2002 volleyball campaign with a 3-0 victory (30-28, 30-23, 30-22) over a gritty Tulane side Friday night in the second game of the Ramada Invitational at Peterson Gym. The match was the season opener for both squads.
The Aztecs were led by junior Aspen McPartland (Grossmont HS), who had a team-high with 15 kills and had a .522 attack percentage on the night. McPartland also registered SDSU's first double double of the season with 15 digs and had eight total blocks. Teammate Megan Schauermann contributed eight kills and three blocks while hitting .538. Senior Nicole Akporiaye also reached double figures in kills with 10 and contributed six blocks.
Game one was a tightly contests affair that saw the host Aztecs take a 10-5 lead only to falter and trail 17-15 midway through the game. A five point-run gave SDSU a 20-17 advantage and they held on for the two-point victory, Akporiaye and McPartland led the Aztec attack with six kills apiece while Tulane's Britney Hurst had six for her side. Husrt led all players in the match with a total of 21 kills.
Game two continued the trend with the lead changing hands early until Tulane grabbed a four-point advantage at 10-6.They maintained that lead as the sides traded points until SDSUU put together a seven-point run to take a 22-18 lead. After allowing a point, SDSU continued with six more consecutive points to stretch their lead to 28-19. Akporiaye had three impressive blocks during the rally.
After two tight contests, game three was a different story as the Aztecs raced out to a 10-5 lead and were never threatened. The hitting of Schauermann and McPartland plus the blocking of Akporiaye did not allow the Golden Wave to get closer than three points the rest of the way. Rochelle Currier's monster kill closed out the win for San Diego State.
In the first game of the tournament, played earlier Friday, UC Santa Barbara needed just an hour and a quarter to dispose of Florida International, 3-0 (30-19, 30-19, 30-20). The 20th-ranked Gauchos hit .463 for the match and committed only five errors on the night.
Ramada Invitational continues on Saturday with four matches. San Diego State will face Florida International at 10:30 a.m. with UCSB and Tulane squaring of at 1:0 p.m. Tulane and Florida International will then play at 5:00 p.m. and tournament action will conclude with the Gauchos and Aztecs playing at 7:30 p.m.