Oct. 29, 2006
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State got a career-high in kills from junior middle blocker Lindsey Mahan as well as a season-high from senior Melanie Greene as it defeated TCU, 3-1 (30-26, 30-28, 23-30, 30-25) Sunday afternoon in Peterson Gym. The win moved SDSU (10-14; 4-8 Mountain West Conference) into sole possession of sixth place in the MWC standings and to within a game of the fifth-place Horned Frogs (17-9, 5-7 MWC).
Mahan finished the afternoon with 14 kills and five blocks as her kills total bettered her previous best of 12 set against TCU in San Diego during the 2005 campaign. Mahan, who hit .462 over the four games, was one of four Aztecs to reach double figures in that category.
Senior Melanie Greene led all players with 19 kills, a figure which tied the season-best for an Aztec in 2006 and was one shy of her career-best total in a match. Fellow senior Audra Dent contributed 13 kills and added a pair of assists, three service aces, eight digs and four blocks. In addition, freshman Stephanie Darnall chipped in with 10 kills and a half dozen digs while libero Aime Cordeiro totaled 19 digs.
TCU was led by 13 kills apiece from Anna Vaughn and LeMeita Smith. The Horned Frogs had six players in double figures in kills with Otto Lauren finishing with a dozen and the trio of Kourtney Edwards, Emily Allen and Nirelle Hampton with 10 each.
In the first game, SDSU took the lead for good at 11-10 although they were unable to pull away. The Aztecs' biggest lead was five points, and they led 20-15 before the horned Frogs fought back to within a point at 26-25. However, an attack error and a kill by Greene made it a three-point SDSU advantage, and they finished off the game on a kill by dent and another TCU attack error. Greene and Vaughn had five kills apiece to lead their respective teams.
Game two saw the teams stay close the entire game with neither side leading by more than three points. The contest was tied on 12 occasions, the last time at 26-26. SDSU then scored back-to-back points on a Greene kill and TCU hitting error. After trading points, Greene ended the contest with a kill to give the Aztecs the two-point win.
After the break, TCU came out with renewed purpose and quickly jumped out to a 10-6 lead en route to making it a 2-1 match. Lauren Otto led all players with five kills while Green had four for the Aztecs.
In the fourth game, the home side took control early, taking the early lead at 3-2 and never looking back. SDSU built their advantage to 10 points at 22-12, and led 29020 before the horned Frogs scored five straight points to make it interesting. Dent then ended the match with her fourth kill of the game.
Up next for San Diego State is a trip to Laramie where it will face the Wyoming Cowgirls on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 7:00 p.m. (MST). That contest will be SDSU's final match on the road in 2006 as it will finish with three straight at home to conclude the regular season.