Oct. 27, 2006
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State snapped a three-match losing streak and moved into sixth place in the Mountain West Conference standings as it defeated New Mexico, 3-0 (30-24, 30-27, 30-22), Friday evening in Peterson Gym. With the victory, the Aztecs improved to 9-14 on the season and 3-8 in the MWC. The loss dropped the Lobos to 7-16 overall (3-8 MWC).
For the fourth time in 2006, SDSU had four players finish in double figures in kills. Senior Melanie Greene, who hit .458 for the match, had her team-leading ninth double-double of the season with a match-high 14 kills along with 11 digs.
Other Aztecs in double figures included Audra Dent (13), Stephanie Darnall (11) and Kelley Wahlin (10). Wahlin hit .529 for the match and had five blocks to lead all players. Middle blocker Lindsey Mahan chipped in with six kills and a .556 attack percentage in the two games in which she played.
New Mexico was led by Jeanne Fairchild and Allison Suiter who recorded 13 and 12 kills respectively.
The match began with SDSU taking a five-point lead in the opening game, only to see UNM knot the score at 15-15. From there, the teams traded points, but the Aztecs never trailed, finally pulling away with three straight points to go up 24-20. SDSU's final six points came on a two kills apiece by Wahlin and Darnall plus solo put aways by Dent and Greene. Dent led all players with seven kills while Darnall had six and Greene five.
Game two was similar to the first game, only with the visitors taking the early lead. Four lead changes and 10 tied scores later, the contest was knotted at 27-27. San Diego State then scored the final three points on a pair of kills by Greene and a solo block by Mahan. Greene's seven kills were the game high followed by six apiece from UNM's Allison Suiter and Jeanne Fairchild.
The third game saw San Diego State take the lead for good at 5-4 and slowly built it to a six-point advantage at 16-10. The Lobos got as close as two at 18-16, but the Aztecs were able to reestablish the momentum and pull away for the eight-point victory. Lindsey Mahan, who had come off the bench in game two, had six kills on seven attempts while middle blocker Kelley Wahlin had four, a number matched by UNM's Suiter.
Both teams had the offense clicking on the night as SDSU hit .396 over the three games compared to .302 for the Lobos. The Aztecs' hitting percentage was a season high and just the fourth time this fall that the team had registered an attack percentage of .300 or better.
After an off-day on Saturday, San Diego State returns to action on Sunday (Oct. 29) with a match against TCU at noon in Peterson Gym. That contest will be televised on a tape-delayed basis by the mtn. television network.