Sept. 20, 2011
SAN DIEGO - For the third time in their last three meetings in Peterson Gym, Cal State Fullerton and San Diego State went five sets and just as on the previous two occasions it was the Aztecs coming out on top with a 3-2 victory. By defeating the Titans by set scores of 20-25, 25-14, 25-19, 18-25, 15-8, SDSU improved to 6-3 on the season while CSUF saw its record drop to 5-7.
Raegan Shelton led San Diego State with 14 kills, three blocks and a service ace. She was one of three Aztecs to reach double figures in kills and was joined by Andrea Hannasch (13) and Summer Nash (10). Hannasch also had nine block assists to match her season best while Nash's 13 digs established a new career high for the sophomore outside hitter.
SDSU setter Johnna Fouch notched her fourth double-double of the year with 51 assists and 15 digs over the five sets. She also chipped in with season highs of four blocks and three service aces.
The Aztecs recorded a season-high 11 service aces led by four from Paije Pearson. SDSU was without the services of senior outside hitter Kyley Sexton, who leads the Mountain West in aces. Sexton sprained her ankle in practice on Monday and was sidelined for Tuesday's action.
Cal State Fullerton's Bre Moreland led all players with 16 kills with fellow Titans Kayla Neto and Jennifer Edmond finishing with 12 and 10 respectively.
Thanks to some solid defense early on, Cal State Fullerton jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the opening set, but SDSU rallied to tie the game at 13-13 with the help of several Titan errors. With the score knotted at 14-all, the visitors won three straight points to forge a lead they would not relinquish en route to a five-point win. The Aztecs had only nine kills in the contest while CSF recorded 16 and turned in a .256 attack percentage. Fullerton's Moreland led all players with five kills while Hannasch had four to pace the home side.
The second set saw San Diego State take the lead for good at 7-6 as it put together several multi-point runs during the game. The largest of those streaks came at 15-12 when SDSU scored seven consecutive points to take control of the contest. Pearson had five kills, four digs and a pair of service aces to lead the Aztecs to the win.
Set number three had the teams tied at 11-11 before San Diego State used a kill by Pearson and a pair of Titan errors to grab a three-point lead. The visitors were never able to any closer than three after that as the Aztecs eventually claimed a six-point victory. Hannasch had five kills and a pair of blocks while Shelton tallied three kills and a block.
Cal State Fullerton controlled much of the play in the fourth set as it held a six-point lead midway through the contest and was never threatened the rest of the way. Moreland had five kills for the Titans, who held SDSU to a .-083 attack percentage as the Aztecs committed 13 errors to just six for CSF.
San Diego State came out ready for the fifth and deciding game as it raced out to a 4-1 lead and never looked back. The Titans closed within a pair at 4-2, but SDSU then scored three straight points to take a 7-2 advantage and go on to the set and match victory. The Aztecs hit .375 for the set while CSUF could muster only a .000 attack percentage. Shelton had three kills and an ace while Hannasch had a pair of kills and two blocks as the duo accounted for four points apiece in the contest.
Up next for San Diego State is a trip to Las Vegas on Friday (Sept. 23) where it will open its 2011 Mountain West season against UNLV at the Rebels' Cox Pavilion at 7:00 p.m..