Sept. 11, 2007
SAN DIEGO - In match that went the distance, San Diego State needed five games to subdue a tough Cal State Fullerton team as it defeated the Titans 3-2 (26-30, 30-27, 30-25, 15-30, 15-12) Tuesday evening in Peterson Gym. The win was the fifth straight for the Aztecs, their longest winning streak since the 2001 season. The team's 8-2 record is also the best since SDSU had the same mark to start that 2001 campaign.
Senior Libero, Aime Cordeiro, who set an SDSU and Mountain West Conference record with 45 digs in San Diego State's last match, came close to matching that effort with 44 against Fullerton. Although one shy of the MWC record, her total was still the most digs in a five-game match in the history of the league.
Senior Lindsey Mahan was the Aztec kill leader on the night, tying her career high with 16. Others in double figures included Stephanie Darnall (13) and Lauren Salisbury with a dozen. Salisbury also added five blocks to lead all players in that category.
The Cal State Fullerton duo of Brittany Moore and Alex Wolnisty recorded 20 and 18 kills respectively while teammate Sarah Day added 16. Despite notching 74 kills to 65 for SDSU, the Titans saw their record fall to 5-5 on the year.
In game one, CSF's Wolnisty led a big Titan comeback with four kills down the stretch as the visitors captured a four-point win. The Aztecs led 20-14, but saw Fullerton rally to knot the score at 24-24. SDSU had the lead at 26-25, but saw the Titans win four of the final five points. Both Wolnisty and Day recorded five kills apiece while SDSU was led by four each from Darnall and Mahan. The loss marked the first time this season that the Aztecs dropped the first game of a match.
In the second game, it was SDSU's turn to mount a comeback as it trailed 10-6 early in the contest. The Aztecs slowly got back into the match, tying the score at 14-14. From there, neither team could build more than a two-point advantage as the score was tied on 16 occasions, but San Diego State took the lead for good at 26-25. A pair of kills by Darnall and one by Wahlin plus a Titan service error secured the win for the home side. Hannah Evans finished with five kills as did CSF's Moore.
Game three saw San Diego State break an 11-11 tie with four straight points on a pair of kills by Salisbury and one each from De Turk and Darnall. The Aztecs maintained their advantage the rest of the way as the Titans could get no closer than two. De Turk and Salisbury had five kills each as SDSU hit .486 for the game.
Cal State Fullerton came out for the fourth game and took control after falling behind 6-4, outscoring the Aztecs 10-2 to take a 16-8 lead. SDSU had only nine kills in the contest including a game-high five by Mahan. San Diego State and hit just .077 as a team while the visitors hit .375.
In the fifth and deciding contest, Fullerton fell behind 8-4 before coming back to within a point at 9-8. The teams traded several points, and with the score 11-10 in favor of SDSU, a kill by Mahan and a Titan hitting error gave the Aztecs a 13-10 lead. CSF again rallied to within a point at 13-12, but a service error and a game-winning kill by Hannah Evans ended the match.
San Diego will now prepare to open its 2007 Mountain West Conference season against Utah on Thursday, Sept. 13, at 7:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym.