Sept. 23, 2009
SAN DIEGO - In a match that San Diego State looked to have secured in three sets, Cal State Fullerton staged an impressive comeback before the Aztecs claimed a 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 25-27, 25-12, 15-12) win over the Titans Wednesday evening in Peterson Gym. It was Fullerton's 23rd visit to Peterson Gym, a site in which they have yet to record a victory over SDSU in the lengthy series between the two schools.
The five-set loss was as close as Fullerton has come to defeating the Aztecs in San Diego and featured a third set that saw the Aztecs have five chances to put the match away, but fail to do so. The win ended a four-match losing streak for SDSU, which improved to 5-6 on the season. With the loss, Cal State Fullerton saw its record fall to 9-4.
San Diego State had five players finish the contest in double figures in kills led by Paije Pearson with 14, a figure that marked a career best for the sophomore from Chandler, Ariz. She hit .355 over the five sets and added four blocks to her stat line.
Other Aztecs in double figures in kills included Hannah Evans (13), Andrea Hannasch (11), Kelsey Manasco (11) and Lauren Salisbury (10). Manasco added 14 digs for her second double-double of the season while Hannasch turned in a personal season-best eight blocks. Setter Lauren Van Orden's 53 assists were one shy of her career best as she had her second double-double of the year with a dozen digs.
Fullerton's Erin Saddler led all players with 20 kills while teammates Alex Wolnisty and Kayla Neto chipped in with 14 and 13 respectively.
The opening set was a tight affair that saw the teams separated by two points or less most of the way. The Aztecs held a two-point advantage at 21-19 before running off four straight points to capture the contest. That run included a Titan service error, a kill by Evans and a pair of Fullerton hitting miscues. SDSU showed a balanced offense as five players contributed three kills apiece.
San Diego State jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead in the second set and would not relinquish the lead over the remainder of the contest. The Aztecs led by four points at 20-16 only to see the visitor score seven of the next nine points to close within one at 23-22. But SDSU's Manasco then delivered back-to-back kills to stake her team to a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Aztecs had a chance to put the match away in the third set as they held a 24-19 lead and had the Titans on the ropes. Cal State Fullerton, however, ran off five consecutive points on a kill by Jennifer Edmond, service ace by Saddler and three San Diego State errors. After the teams traded points, CSF got kills from Neto and Deven Bukoski to win the contest.
The come-from-behind win inspired the Titans, who came out and dominated the fourth set. Saddler had six of Fullerton's 14 kills in the contest as it held SDSU to just eight kills and a .032 attack percentage. The Aztec found themselves down by just three at 10-7, but from there CSF took charge en route to the 13-point win.
Despite their fine play in the third and fourth sets, Cal State Fullerton's magical comeback would fall short as SDSU would prevail in the deciding fifth set. The Aztecs took the lead for good at 4-3 and extended that advantage to three points at 10-7. The teams exchanged points the remainder of the contest with SDSU's final four points coming on a pair of kills by Pearson followed by two from Evans.
San Diego State will now prepare for its annual meeting with the University of San Diego on Friday, Sept. 25, at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion at 7:00 p.m.