Sept. 17, 2002
SAN DIEGO - The University of San Diego, behind the hitting of Noel Frohman and Devon Forster, defeated San Diego State 3-1 (24-30, 30-21, 30-25, 30-26) Tuesday evening in Peterson Gym. With the victory, the Toreros improved to 8-2 on the season while the Aztecs saw their record drop to the .500 mark at 6-6.
Frohman ended the night with a match-high 18 kills while Forster had 16. San Diego State, which was without starting hitter Zlatina Anguelova due to injury, got 10 kills apiece from Nicole Akporiaye and Rochelle Currier.
Game one saw the lead trade hands until the Aztecs took the lead for good at 15-14. Although the Toreros had 17 kills to SDSU's 15, the difference was at the net where the Aztecs recorded six team blocks compared to none for USD. Melissa Cansdale, Melissa Wright and Nicole Akporiaye had three blocks apiece for the home team.
The Toreros came back strong in the second game, hitting .370 to SDSU's .125. Kirsten Durst had four kills for USD while Aspen McPartland tallied five to keep the Aztec in the game early.
Game three was the Noel Frohman show as the senior hitter totaled seven kills. Teammate Devon Forster added four as USD out-hit the Aztecs .366 to .231. With San Diego State leading 19-15, USD won seven of the next nine points to take a 23-21 lead, and they never looked back. Nicole Akporiaye had four kills for the Aztecs, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Torero offensive display.
In the fourth game, USD raced out to a 10-3 lead and SDSU could only get as close as four late in the game. Although Forster ended the contest with a team-leading six kills, nine of the Toreros' first 13 points in the game came courtesy of Aztec miscues as the home side hit just .083 for the game. SDSU sophomore Kara Moriarty, making her first appearance of the night, had five kills for the Aztecs.
Up next for San Diego State is a trip to North Carolina where they will participate in the Black and Gold Challenge at Wake Forest beginning Friday (Sept. 20). The Aztecs will face Winthrop, Alabama-Birmingham and the host team before returning to Peterson Gym to take on Loyola Marymount next Wednesday (Sept. 25) at 6:00 p.m.