Nov. 20, 2008
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SAN DIEGO - On a night in which two seniors were honored prior their final home match and the Aztecs bid farewell to a retiring head coach, San Diego State defeated Air Force in four sets (25-18, 25-14, 17-25, 25-8) Thursday evening in Peterson Gym. The win ended a four-game slide for SDSU and was a fitting sendoff for longtime head coach Mark Warner, who will retire at the end of the season.
With the victory, the Aztecs improved their record to 9-17 overall as they finish 6-10 in the Mountain West Conference. Air Force, meanwhile, dropped to 5-23 (0-15 MWC).
Both Aztecs seniors played a part in the win. Setter Leah Lathrop finished with 17 assists along with five digs and a kill while Libero Michelle Ferrer contributed eight digs plus three service aces and a trio of assists.
SDSU freshman Kyley Sexton led all players with eight kills with teammates Lauren Salisbury and Lauren Van Orden chipping in with seven apiece. At the net, Bailee Hellwig recorded six blocks with Salisbury and Kelsey Manasco each putting down five. Outside hitter Stephanie Darnall also had a solid match with six kills, 11 digs, four service aces, three assists and three blocks.
Air Force was led by Michelle Harrington's eight kills and four blocks. The Falcons hit .125 as a team over the four sets while SDSU had a .308 attack percentage.
In the opening set, the Aztecs dropped the initial point on a service error, then scored four straight and led the remainder of the contest. Both teams registered 10 kills with Air Force's Stephanie Stanford and SDSU's Van Orden leading the way with three apiece. Hellwig and Manasco had three block assists apiece for the home side as well.
The second set saw San Diego State score five of the first six points en route to the 11-point victory. The Falcons did not make it easy, however, as they drew within a point at 11-10 before the Aztecs ran off seven consecutive points to take control of the contest. The Aztecs hit .650 for the set with four players (Darnall, Salisbury, Sexton and Manasco) recording three kills apiece.
After the break, Air Force came out like a different team, jumping out to a 9-3 lead and increasing their advantage to 16-6. From there the Aztecs rallied to pull within a point at 18-17, but the visitors then rallied for the final seven points one two kills and a service ace by Caroline Kurtz, a kill by Jasamine Pettie and three SDSU hitting errors to win the contest going away.
San Diego State immediately regained the momentum in the fourth set, taking an 11-3 lead behind a trio of kills by Sexton as it dominated from start to finish. SDSU hit .611 for the set and held the Falcons to only four kills and a -.115 hitting percentage.
San Diego State concludes its 2008 campaign with a match at Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, Nov.29, at noon.