Oct. 18, 2008
SAN DIEGO - Colorado State, led by a 16-kill, 6-block performance from Mekana Barnes, defeated San Diego State 25-20, 25-20, 25-20 Saturday afternoon in Peterson Gym. The 13th-ranked Rams, who were upset at UNLV on Thursday, won for the 14th time in their last 15 matches to improve to 17-2 overall and 7-1 in the Mountain West Conference. SDSU, meanwhile, saw its record fall to 6-12 (3-5 MWC) on the year.
San Diego State was led by freshman Kyley Sexton, who finished with nine kills, a dig and a block while hitting .350 over the three sets. Teammates Stephanie Darnall, Lauren Salisbury and Lauren Van Orden had eight kills apiece with the later two hitting .300 and .400 respectively.
For the Rams, Jacque Davisson added 10 kills, four digs, three service aces and a pair of blocks while setter Ashley Fornstrom had 42 of her team's 46 assists on the day.
The Aztecs came out strong in the opening set, running out to a quick 7-2 lead. However, they could not sustain that momentum and the Rams gradually worked themselves back into the contest, tying it at 13-13 and taking the lead for good at 16-15. Both teams registered 16 kills in the set with SDSU hitting .394 to CSU's .333. The five point margin in the final score came in the form of four Ram service aces and a solo block.
The second set was another tightly contested affair with the teams trading points up to 16-all. Leading 19-18, the visitors then scored four straight points on a pair of kills by Tessa Nelson, one from Jaime Strauss plus an Aztec hitting error. Strauss had a set-high five kills for the Rams while Salisbury led SDSU with four.
After the break, San Diego State come out and took an 11-4 lead as they sought to get back into the match. But the Rams had other ideas. Trailing 15-10, they stormed back with eight straight points to regain control of the set and match. That run included two kills apiece from Barnes and Danielle Minch plus a pair of SDSU hitting errors as the visitors completed their third consecutive 25-20 set victory.
San Diego State will return to road action as it visits Fort Worth, Texas, to take on TCU in a conference match on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7:00 p.m. (CDT).