Oct. 10, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State had to fight off a spirited comeback by Wyoming as the Aztecs defeated the Cowgirls in five sets (25-19, 25-16, 18-25, 21-25, 16-14) Saturday afternoon in Peterson Gym. The match ended up being a very tight victory for SDSU after it had taken a quick two-sets-to-none lead in the match.
The win allowed San Diego State to end a three-match skid as it improved to 7-10 overall and 2-5 in the Mountain West Conference. Wyoming, meanwhile, saw its record drop to 10-11 (1-5 MWC).
Lauren Salisbury led the Aztecs as she recorded 19 kills for the second straight match along with four blocks and a .607 hitting percentage. Freshman Andrea Hannasch joined Salisbury in double figures in kills with 10 and also contributed four blocks and five digs in the winning effort.
Aztec libero Kristi Jackels matched her personal best with 27 digs over the five sets, a total she first had against Rice on Sept. 4. Teammate Paije Pearson also had a fine match with nine kills and a .316 attack percentage along with a team-high five blocks.
Wyoming's Jodi Purdy led all players with 21 kills, completing a double-double effort with 11 digs while Lauren Whitney chipped in with 11 kills for the visitors.
The opening set was a tale of a big run by each team that eventually saw the Aztecs prevail. After a Cowgirl service error gave SDSU an 8-6 lead, the home side ran off seven straight points to take a 15-8 advantage. During that sequence, the Aztecs got three kills from Salisbury and pair from Manasco. At that point, Wyoming put together its own streak, scoring six in a row to close to within 15-12. The visitors climbed to within two points at 17-15, but could come no closer as SDSU would go on to the six-point win.
In the second set, the teams stayed within a point of each other up until 12-12 when San Diego State took control of the contest by scoring six straight points. Four of those came on two kills apiece from Salisbury and Kylie Sexton. The latter led all players with a half dozen kills in the game.
Set three was anther typically tight affair between the teams with the score knotted at 16-all just past the mid-point of the contest. Wyoming then grabbed control of the game, scoring eight straight points on a pair of kills by Purdy, one by Dani Bedore, a service ace by Jessica Kagarise and four SDSU errors.
The Cowgirls carried the momentum into the fourth set although it was another close contest with the teams facing a 20-20 deadlock. A pair of kills by Camille Coffman plus an ace by Kagarise put the visitors in the driver's seat as they went on win the game and tie the match at two sets apiece.
In the fifth and deciding set, San Diego State quickly fell behind 4-1, but was able to recover and tie the contest at six apiece. The Aztecs looked to be in great shape when, with the score tied at 10-10, they rattled off three points in a row on a kill by Salisbury, a service ace by Casey Klein and a Cowgirl attack error.
SDSU then took a 14-11 lead with three chances to put the match away, but Wyoming rallied to tie the game at 14-all and force extra points. The Cowgirls then committed a service error and had a bad set to allow the Aztecs to claim the set and match.
Up next for San Diego State is another home contest as it will square off against MWC foe Air Force next Friday, Oct. 16, at 7:00 p.m. in Peterson Gym in their lone match of the week.