Oct. 22, 2009
LAS VEGAS - San Diego State got double kills effort from five players and used a balanced attack to defeat UNLV in four sets (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-15) Thursday evening at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. It was the third consecutive win for the Aztecs as they completed a season series sweep of the Rebels for the first time since 2003.
With the win, SDSU improved to 9-10 overall and 4-5 in the Mountain West Conference as it moved into sole possession of sixth place in the league standings. UNLV, meanwhile, saw its record drop to 5-12 (3-6 MWC).
Paije Pearson and Hannah Evans led the Aztecs with 13 kills apiece over the four sets. Pearson's total was one shy of her career best while her eight digs for the second consecutive match tied her personal high. Evans finished with nine digs, one shy of completing a double-double.
The SDSU threesome of Lauren Salisbury, Andrea Hannasch and Kyley Sexton ended the night with 11 kills each. Salisbury had only one hitting error for a .625 hitting percentage as she improved her season mark to .367. Hannasch added eight blocks to her stat line as she equaled her career high in that category while Sexton, the current MWC Player of the Week, contributed six digs and a pair of blocks.
Aztec setter Lauren Salisbury added 56 assists, her second highest total of the season. She also had two blocks along with six digs. She has recorded at least one block in 18 of the teams's 19 matches this fall.
UNLV's Kelsey Keeler led all players with 15 kills while teammates Cursty Jackson and Sara Nehf added 11 and 10 respectively.
In the opening set, San Diego State jumped out to an 11-6 lead, but could not sustain the momentum as UNLV came back to tie the score at 14-14. After the teams traded points, the Rebels took the lead for good at 16-15. Even though they could not open up more than a two point advantage the rest of the way, they hung on for the two-point victory.
Set two saw SDSU again take the early initiative and grab a 12-5 lead. UNLV, however, slowly worked its way back into the contest and eventually knotted the score at 23-all after the Aztecs had led the entire game up until that point. This time, SDSU was able to claim the set victory courtesy of a pair of Rebel attack errors.
The third set was another tightly contested affair that saw UNLV take the early lead and hold it for a majority of the contest. San Diego State remained close though, and caught up with the home side at 20-20. After each team scored once, the Aztecs scored twice on a kill by Sexton and a Rebel hitting miscue. The teams again traded points, and with SDSU leading 24-22, Pearson notched the set-winning kill to give the Aztecs the 2-1 lead in the match.
San Diego State came out for the fourth set and immediately took control, scoring the first two points and leading the contest from start to finish. They built on their early advantage and won six of the set's final seven points to put the match away. Sexton, Pearson and Hannasch had four kills each as the Aztecs hit .464 for the set while holding the Rebels to a .094 attack percentage.
Up next for the Aztecs is a non-conference match at Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2:00 p.m.