FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Missing two of its key players, San Diego State could not overcome ninth-ranked Colorado State, falling to the Rams in three games (30-18, 30-9, 30-20) Friday night at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. With the win, the CSU improved to 18-2 overall and 9-1 in the Mountain West Conference. The Aztecs, meanwhile, saw their record fall to 3-19 (3-6 MWC).
Already without libero Aime Cordeiro, who did not make the trip after injuring her knee in SDSU's last match, San Diego State lost the services of senior outside hitter Kara Moriarty to a sprained ankle early in game one of the Friday evening's match.
From the outset, Colorado State showed why it is ranked among the country's elite as it took control of the match early and never looked back, hitting .306 over the three games and holding the visitor to a -.029 attack percentage. The Rams recorded a season-high service aces and out-blocked the Aztecs 13-2.
SDSU was led by Ashley Bowker and Melissa Stapley, who tallied seven kills apiece to account for over half of the team's 23 on the night. Bowker also contributed a pair of blocks and had the team's best hitting percentage of the night at .263.
For the Rams, Tess Rogers and Dre Downs had 11 kills each while senior Bri Frech led all blockers with six.
San Diego continues conference play Saturday evening (Oct. 30) when it visits Laramie to take on the University of Wyoming at 7:00 p.m. (MDT) at the Cowgirls' Multi-Purpose Gym.