Sept. 13, 2006
LAS VEGAS - For the second match in a row, San Diego State tried to come back from a two games to one deficit, only to fall short and lose in five as it fell to UNLV, 3-2 (30-25, 21-30, 22-30, 30-28, 15-10) Wednesday night at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. With the win, UNLV improved to 8-2 overall while the Aztecs dropped their third straight match to fall to 4-6. The contest marked the Mountain West Conference opener for both sides.
Freshman outside hitter Stephanie Darnall led SDSU with 19 kills and 20 digs as she recorded a double-double for the fourth match in a row. Her 20 digs represented a season high for the first-year Aztec.
Seniors Audra Dent and Melanie Greene also finished in double figures in kills with 16 and 15 respectively. Greene completed the double-double effort, her fourth straight and fifth of the season, with 17 digs. She also tied her season best with five blocks.
Libero Aime Cordeiro tallied 30 digs over the five games to up her league-leading average to 5.70 per game. In the process, she became the first Aztec player to ever record five 30-dig matches during her career.
Setters Kristen Castillo and Leah Lathrop split duties at their position in SDSU's 6-2 formation and ended the night with 29 and 28 assists respectively. In addition, Bailee Hellwig led all players with six blocks.
UNLV had five players in double figures in kills led by Maria Aladjova with 16 and Lauren Miramontes with 13. The Rebels hit .205 on the night compared to .144 for the Aztecs.
After San Diego State came out and took the first game by five points, the home side controlled the next two contests and looked to be headed for the four-game victory. However, the Aztecs came out strong in that fourth contest, leading from start to finish to force a fifth game. In the decider, the score was even at 2-2 when UNLV ran off three straight points. SDSU was unable to close the gap, eventually losing by five.
The Aztecs will now head north on Friday (Sept. 15) to participate in the Hawthorne Suites Fullerton Invitational at Cal State Fullerton. They will open play that afternoon with a match against Penn at 2:30 p.m. (PDT), then face Lipscomb and the host Titans on Saturday.