Nov. 5, 2009
LARAMIE, Wyo. - San Diego State came from behind after being down two sets to one and defeated Wyoming in five games (25-20, 22-25, 13-25, 25-23, 16-14) Thursday evening in Laramie. It was the Aztecs' first win on the Cowgirls' home floor since the 2002 campaign and ended a short two-game skid as SDSU won for the fifth time in its last seven outings.
It was the Aztecs' sixth five-set match of the season, a situation in which they have been victorious four times in 2009. However, it was the first time that they came back after dropping two of the first three sets.
Freshman middle blocker Andrea Hannasch led the Aztecs with 12 kills as she hit .400 on the night. She contributed a personal season-high nine blocks, the best single-match total by an Aztec this year, and also accounted for a career-high 17.5 points in the match.
Joining Hannasch in double figures in kills with 11 was Hannah Evans, who notched her sixth double-double of the year by adding a career-high 15 assists. It marked the sixth game in a row in which the junior outside hitter finished a match in double figures in kills. She was one dig shy of recording her first career triple-double as she also had nine digs over the five sets.
Wyoming, meanwhile, had three players end the night in double figures in kills led by Jodi Purdy with 21 and Lauren Whitney with 19. Teammate JennaRae Jester added 15 kills and the three accounted for all but 10 of their team's kills,
In the opening set, San Diego State took the early lead at 3-2 and held the upper hand through the remainder of the contest with their biggest advantage being five points. Hannasch led all players with six kills and also added three of her blocks as the Aztecs hit .321 to .194 for Wyoming.
SDSU again grabbed the lead quickly in the second set and held it for the first half of the contest only to see the Cowgirls tie the game at 16-16. At 18-all, the home side score two quick points on an Aztec service error and an ace by Dani Bedore. Three of Wyoming's final four points came on a pair of SDSU attack miscues and a service error.
After the break, the Cowgirls came out and controlled the third set from start to finish, running out an 8-1 lead. The eventually built their advantage to 20-5 as SDSU had only eight kills and a .059 hitting percentage in the contest.
The fourth set saw the Aztecs lead most of the way and enjoy a 24-20 lead late in the contest. At that point, Wyoming fought back on a pair of kills by Purdy and an Aztec hitting error to get within one at 24-23. But Evans was able to record the game-winning kill and even the match at two sets apiece.
In the deciding contest, San Diego State was on the edge of dropping the match as it trailed 13-10 late in the set. But SDSU used kills by Paije Pearson and Kyley Sexton plus a pair of Cowgirl errors to take a 14-13 lead. After Wyoming tied it at 14-14, the Aztecs closed out the match on a kill by Pearson and a Wyoming hitting miscue.
San Diego State continues road action as it now moves on to Fort Collins, Colo., where it will meet league-leading Colorado State on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1:00 p.m. (MT).