Nov. 15, 2008
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Wyoming got a balanced offensive attack with four players in double figures in kills as it bested San Diego State in four sets (26-24, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19) Saturday night at the UniWyo Sports Complex in Laramie. The loss was the fourth in a row for SDSU which saw its record fall to 8-17 overall and 5-10 in the Mountain West Conference. For UW, the win halted a three-match losing streak as the Cowgirls improved to 5-18 (4-10 MWC).
San Diego State freshman Kyley Sexton led her team with a dozen kills while hitting .328, but she finished as the lone Aztec in double figures. Lauren Salisbury recorded nine kills while Stephanie Darnall and Kelsey Manasco tallied eight apiece.
The Aztecs were strong at the next defensively, finishing with a season-high 22 block assists en route to 13 total team blocks, their third-best total in a match this fall. Darnall led all players with seven total blocks while Salisbury and Bailee Hellwig had six apiece.
Defensively, Darnall added 18 digs, her highest total of the season while Courtney Lamphier registered a career best for the second straight match with 10.
For the Cowgirls, Lauren Whitney took match honors with 18 kills while teammate Jenna Arneson contributed 14. In addition, Dan Bedore and JennaRae Jester ended the evening with 13 and 11 kills respectively.
The opening set was a tightly-contested affair that saw SDSU holding the late advantage at 22-20. Wyoming, however, tied the score at 22-all on kills by Jester and Bedore. After the teams traded two points apiece, the Cowgirls captured the set courtesy of an Aztec attack effort and a kill by Lauren Whitney.
The second contest was another close one as the Aztecs held a 15-12 lead before the home side knotted the score at 17-17, then took the lead for good at 19-18. From there UW captured six of the final nine points helped by as pair of kills from both Arneson and Whitney.
After the break, San Diego State came out and quickly took control of the third set, building a 17-7 lead en route to the five-point win. Three kills each from Van Orden and Sexton along with four blocks by Salisbury led the Aztecs.
In the fourth set, Wyoming regained control of the match, leading from start to finish. SDSU trailed by only two at 13-11 before the Cowgirls ran off six straight points for which the Aztecs had no answer.
UW hit .207 for the match compared to .163 for San Diego State and the hosts finished with 18 more kills than the visitors (63-48).
San Diego State now returns home where it will conclude its 2008 home season with a match against Air Force on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 6:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym. Prior to that contest, the Aztecs will honor a pair of seniors (Leah Lathrop and Michelle Ferrer) who will be making the final home appearances of their SDSU careers. In addition, head coach Mark Warner, who has announced his retirement at the end of this season, will also be honored.