Sept. 12, 2008
SPOKANE, Wash. - Facing the same non-conference foe for the second time in seven days, the San Diego State volleyball team went the distance against Weber State only to lose in five sets (25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 21-25, 6-15) in the opener of the Gonzaga Invitational at the Martin Centre in Spokane, Wash. The loss was the third straight for the Aztecs, who saw their record drop to 2-5 on the season. Weber State, meanwhile, improved its overall mark to 6-3.
SDSU went into the match seeking a measure of redemption after losing to the Wildcats, 3-1, in their final match at last weekend's Baylor Classic. But it wasn't to be as Weber State came back for a two-sets-to-one deficit to record its third straight victory.
Lauren Salisbury was SDSU's offensive leader on the evening, finishing with a team-high 15 kills along with two service aces, two digs and a pair of blocks. It marked the fifth time this season that the sophomore has recorded double figures in kills in a match.
Several Aztecs turned in personal career bests led by redshirt sophomore Bailee Hellwig, who showed some of the form she displayed during her freshman season of 2006. Hellwig set new personal SDSU career high in block assists with eight and in total blocks with 10.
Two freshmen also set new highs for their young SDSU careers. Setter Lauren Van Orden's 11 kills and four blocks were season highs as were the nine kills and 10 assists turned in by fellow first-year Aztec Kyley Sexton. In addition, Darnall's four blocks were a season high for her as well.
Weber State's Chelsea Bair led all players with 18 kills while Micah Folsom chipped in with 11. Libero Caitlyn Anderson had 17 digs to match the total of SDSU libero Michelle Ferrer. Folsom and Bair had 14 and 10 digs respectively.
San Diego State began the match slowly and found itself trailing 15-10 just past the mid-point of the first set. From there, the Aztecs scored eight of the next nine points to go up 18-16. Included in that run were three kills by Van Orden and three blocks by Hellwig to lead the comeback as San Diego State went on to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set saw Weber State take to early lead at 4-1 only to see SDSU knot the score at 11-11. The Wildcats then scored two straight points and maintained their lead to the end of the contest. Darnall led both teams with six kills.
In the third contest, it was San Diego State that jumped out to a 3-0 lead, only they would not be caught en route to the six-point win. Holding a one-point advantage at 11-10, SDSU scored eight of the ensuing 10 points to take control of the set. Salisbury's five kills paced the Aztecs.
Weber State took game four after its 20-17 lead was whittled down to a single point by SDSU at 22-21. However, the Wildcats got a pair of kills by Leah Burmeister and an Aztec attack error to close out the contest and tie the match at two sets apiece.
The fifth and deciding set was all Weber State as it scored five of the first six points and stifled SDSU's offensive attack the rest of the way. The Wildcats put together a .455 attack percentage for the contest while holding the Aztecs to a -.111 hitting percentage. SDSU had only four kills in the set with no player recording more than one.
San Diego State continues play at the Gonzaga Invitational on Saturday, Sept 13, with a match against the host school at 1:00 p.m. (PDT). The Aztecs will conclude tourney play by facing Texas-El Paso at 5:00 p.m. that same evening.