Nov. 2, 2002
SAN DIEGO - San Diego took over the top spot in the Mountain West Conference standings Saturday evening as it swept Colorado State (30-20, 30-25, 30-27) in Peterson Gym. With the win, the Aztecs improved to 18-10 overall and 9-2 in MWC play, a half game ahead of the Rams (16-8; 8-2 MWC).
When the teams met in Fort Collins in early October, the Aztecs saw a two-game lead evaporate, eventually losing 3-2 to the Rams. This time, the Aztecs made sure there was no repeat of that match as they controlled a majority of the play from start to finish. The SDSU win also broke an eight-match Ram winning streak in the series between the two teams.
On Aztec senior night, it was appropriate that San Diego State was led by its fourth-year threesome of Nicole Akporiaye, Rochelle Currier and Melissa Wright, each playing their final match at home.
Currier finished with a match-high 14 kills along with nine digs while Akporiaye hit .529 for the match with nine kills, no attack errors and six block assists. For her part, Wright had a pair of kills and 38 assists while also being involved in three blocks. Junior Zlatina Anguelova also contributed a dozen kills on the night while hitting .357.
The Colorado State duo of Katie Jo Shirley and Michelle Knox led the visitors with 12 and 11 kills respectively.
San Diego State found its offensive rhythm early and kept it much of the evening. They finished with a team hitting percentage of .336 while holding the Rams to .194. The Aztecs came up big at the net all night long, recording 13 team blocks to just two for the visitors.
In game one, the Aztecs fell behind quickly at 4-1, but fought back to take the lead for good at 9-8. Aspen McPartland and Nicole Akporiaye led SDSU with four kills apiece while three Rams tallied three each. The Aztec defense held the Rams to a .000 attack percentage while hitting .325 themselves.
The second game was a closer affair that saw the Rams maintain a slim lead until SDSU knotted the score at 18-18. The Aztecs then won seven of the next eight points to take a 25-19 lead and go on to the five-point win. Currier led the Aztec attack with six kills while Shirley paced CSU with five.
Game three saw San Diego State control early and run out to a 14-10 lead. However, that advantage soon evaporated as the Rams came back to tie the score at 15-15. The Aztecs then won the ensuing two points to take a lead they would not relinquish. Over the final third of the match, Anguelova and Currier had a trio of kills each, with the latter hitting the match winner as SDSU went on to record its first win over Colorado State since 1996.
Up next for the Aztecs is a visit to Las Vegas where they will face UNLV next Saturday (Nov. 9) at 7:00 p.m. That contest will be the first of three conference road matches to conclude SDSU's league season.