Oct. 21, 2006
PROVO, Utah - San Diego State found it rough going in Provo Saturday evening as it dropped a 3-0 (30-20, 30-22, 30-27) decision to Brigham Young in Mountain West Conference volleyball action. The loss to the 18th-ranked Cougars was the third straight for SDSU, which saw its record fall to 8-14 overall and 2-8 in league play. BYU, meanwhile, improved to 18-2 on the year and maintained its grip on second place in the conference standings with a 9-1 mark in MWC action.
Senior right side hitter Audra Dent was the lone Aztec to reach double figures in kills as she finished with 11 on the night. Fellow senior Melanie Greene tallied nine kills and five digs as the SDSU offense was held in check most of the evening.
Junior middle blocker Kelley Wahlin recorded seven blocks and finished the two-match road trip (vs. Utah and BYU) averaging over two blocks per game. Freshman Bailee Hellwig added six blocks as did Lindsey Mahan. With 14 team blocks to just five for the Cougars, it was the one statistical area that the Aztecs dominated.
Four players ended the night in double figures in kills for the home side led by Chelsea Goodman with 16. Erica Lott completed a double-double effort with 14 kills and 10 digs.
Although the team's hitting percentage of .118 over the three games was an improvement over the previous night's mark at Utah, the Aztecs got off to a rocky start in the opening game, hitting just .026. That mark improved as the evening progressed, but SDSU was unable to match BYU's hitters, who turned in a .254 overall attack percentage.
For San Diego State, the match was the next-to-last contest on the road this season as it will finish with five of its final six contests at home in Peterson Gym. That stretch gets underway next Friday, Oct. 27, as the Aztecs host New Mexico at 7:00 p.m. (PDT).