Sept. 2, 2011
NEW ORLEANS - San Diego State put the disappointment of a five-set loss to Tulane behind it and made quick work of William & Mary in a three-set win in back-to-back matches at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Classic Friday evening at Fogelman Arena in New Orleans. Due to the expected arrival of Tropical Storm Lee, the tournament schedule was abbreviated with the Aztecs playing twice Friday evening. Their contest with Southern Illinois, scheduled for Saturday, was canceled.
In the evening's opening contest, SDSU saw host Tulane rally from a two-set deficit to capture the match by scores of 19-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 18-16.
Paije Pearson led the Aztec with 17 kills and also added four blocks, eight digs and a pair of assists. Sophomore Raegan Shelton had 14 kills and four blocks while teammate Andrea Hannasch turned in her second double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 blocks.
In addition, setter Johnna Fouch also had her second double-double of the year with 55 assists and 10 digs with libero Kristi Jackels turning in a season-high 26 digs over the five sets.
SDSU appeared in control of the match as it pulled away over the second half of the first set to register a six-point win. The second set was closer, but with the score knotted at 23-23 the Aztecs got kills from Pearson and Kyley second to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
After the intermission, the Green Wave came out with renewed purpose and went on to tie the match at two sets apiece by winning sets three and four in similar fashion. Both contests went to 15-all at which point the home side took a two-point lead and built on that advantage over the remainder of the game en route to five- and four-point victories.
The deciding set seemed to be gong in San Diego State's favor as it took a 12-8 lead. Tulane, however, scored five straight points to take the lead and then had a pair of match points when it led 14-12. A service error and kill by Shelton tied the set at 14-14, but the Aztecs were never able to take the lead. At 16-all, the Green Wave used an Aztec hitting error and a block to capture the set and match.
After a 45-minute break, SDSU was back on the court again to take on William & Mary and the Aztecs needed just over an hour to dispose of the Tribe in three sets by scores of 25-17, 25-13, 25-20.
Shelton was San Diego State's offensive leader with nine kills while Hannasch had five along with five digs and a block. Redshirt freshman Oni Lattin made her Aztec debut and tallied four kills, a block and a dig over the two sets in which she appeared. Jackels also added 12 digs in the contest to finish the day with an average of 4.75 per set.
In the opening set, SDSU led 5-4 before scoring seven of the next eight points to build a 12-5 advantage. The Aztecs maintained that margin the rest of the way as the Tribe was never able to get closer than six points over the second half of the game.
Set two was all San Diego State as Hannasch and Shelton led the way with four kills and one block apiece. The Aztecs led the entire way after jumping out to a quick 6-1 lead.
The third set saw SDSU trailing 10-8 before it put together a string of seven consecutive points to build a five-point lead. Although William & Mary got back to within three at 20-17, the Aztecs were never threatened as they secured the match victory by winning five of the final eight points.
San Diego State will take a break from intercollegiate competition next weekend as it hosts its annual Alumni Game next Saturday, Sept. 10, at 5:00 p.m. on Aztec Court in Peterson Gym.