Nov. 23, 2006
LAS VEGAS - Seventh-seeded San Diego State registered the biggest upset in the eight-year history of the Mountain West Conference Tournament as it defeated second-seeded Brigham Young in five games (30-27, 30-28, 28-30, 24-30, 15-12) Thursday afternoon at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. It was SDSU's first win over the 20th-ranked Cougars since the 2002 season as it improved to 12-17 on the year. BYU, meanwhile, lost for only the fifth time this fall as it fell to 24-5.
It was just the third time in tournament history that a team seeded lower than fourth was victorious over a higher-seeded team, and the first occasion in which a seventh-seeded squad won a match. (The other two upset wins were both a fifth seed defeating a fourth seed in the opening round.)
The win was truly a team effort for San Diego State as all six starters plus a couple reserves provided major contributions toward the final result. Freshman Stephanie Darnall was one of four Aztecs to reach double figures in kills as she completed a double-double with 16 kills and 19 digs.
SDSU's senior co-captains Melanie Greene and Audra Dent each registered 15 kills as well. Greene completed her team-leading 11th double-double of the season with 13 digs while Dent added a personal season-best nine blocks.
Aztec libero Aime Cordeiro led all players with 33 digs, her second-best effort of the season. In the process, the junior from Santee, Calif., broke the San Diego State single-season dig record of 545 that was set back in 1988 by Jackie Mendez. Cordeiro's season total now stands at 554 and she ranks third on the SDSU career list.
Junior middle blocker Lindsey Mahan chipped in with a dozen kills and also a season-high seven total blocks while hitting .375. Elsewhere at the net, SDSU's 6-5 middle blockers Kelley Wahlin and Bailee Hellwig had 14 and five blocks respectively, with Wahlin's total a team high in 2006.
The Aztec setting tandem of Kristen Castillo and Leah Lathrop had 54 assists between them as SDSU employed a 6-2 formation in which it alternated the duo.
In the opening game, the teams were tied at 25-25 when a kill by Greene and a BYU attack error gave SDSU a two-point lead. The Aztecs maintained that edge over the next four points, winning the game on a pair of kills by Dent. The senior duo led all players with five kills apiece in the contest.
Game two saw San Diego State take a six-point lead midway through the contest, only to see BYU come back to take the lead at 26-24. From that point, the Aztecs won three straight points on a pair of Cougar hitting errors and another kill by Dent. After BYU tied it at 27-all, SDSU won three of the final four points on another Cougar attack error and two kills by Dent, who again led her team with five kills.
The third game saw Brigham Young begin to mount its comeback effort with a late rally, This time it was the Cougars who rallied from a 24-20 deficit to take the lead at 26-25 and go on to the two-point win. Darnall had five kills to lead SDSU.
BYU's resurgence continued in game four as it took the lead at 17-16 and was never caught. The Cougars built on that advantage for the six-point win while hitting .261 for the contest, their best mark in any of the five games.
The fifth and deciding game was an evenly-contested affair that had the score knotted at 8-8 at the halfway point. San Diego State then ran off four consecutive points to take a 12-8 lead on kills by Mahan, Darnall and Hellwig. BYU got back to within two points at 14-12, but a kill by Greene finished off the match and gave SDSU the upset win.
Up next for San Diego State is a date in the tournament semifinals against third-seeded Colorado State on Friday, Nov. 24, at 1:00 p.m. (PST) in Las Vegas.