Sept. 4, 2010
TEMPE, Ariz. - San Diego State wrapped up play at the ASU Sheraton Classic with a three-set victory (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) over Seattle Saturday morning at the Wells Fargo Arena on the campus of Arizona State. With the win, the Aztecs improved to 5-1 as freshman Raegan Shelton was named to the all-tournament team.
Three SDSU players finished the match in double figures in kills led by 13 from senior middle blocker Lauren Salisbury, who hit .591 over the three sets and had a .591 attack percentage. Kyley Sexton had 12 kills and seven digs while teammate Raegan Shelton contributed 10 kills, two blocks and four digs.
Andrea Hannasch led all players with five blocks and also recorded nine kills, two service aces and a .389 hitting percentage. First-year setter Johnna Fouch had 39 assists to go along with four blocks and five digs.
As a team, the Aztecs hit .333 for the match, their second-highest mark in six matches this year. At the same time, they held the Redhawks to a .181 attack percentage, the second-lowest for an opponent in 2010.
The opening set was the closest of the three as the lead changed hands six times. Trailing 14-13, SDSU ran off five straight points on kills by Salisbury and Shelton, a block by Salisbury and a pair of Seattle errors to take a four-point lead. The Aztecs held that advantage through the remainder of the set before finishing off the contest on kills by Paije Pearson and Hannasch,
The second set saw San Diego State score the first four points that included a kill and a pair of service aces by Hannasch before eventually taking a 10-3 lead. The Redhawks were only able to close the gap to four points at 18-14 before the Aztecs scored seven of the set's final 11 points with Sexton providing the game-winning kill.
Set number three was more of the same with SDSU running out to a 10-5 lead. Just as in the previous game, Seattle trailed 18-14 when the Aztecs took seven of the next 11 points to win the set and match. Once again Hannasch was involved as she had the kill to make it 24-18, and then combined with Shelton for the block to secure the victory.
Shelton was named to ASU Sheraton Classic all-tournament team as she finished the weekend with an average of 3.440 kills and a .389 hitting percentgae over SDSU's three matches.
Up next for San Diego State is a trip to the islands for the Verizon Wireless Volleyball Challenge in Honolulu. The Aztecs will open play against fourth-ranked Hawai'i on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 7:00 p.m. (HT) in UH's Stan Sheriff Center.