Oct. 9, 2011
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - For the second time in two matches San Diego State went five sets on the road and emerged victorious as it defeated New Mexico, 3-2 (25-16, 23-25, 25-27, 25-21, 17-15), Sunday afternoon in Albuquerque. In the process, the Aztecs had to stave off five match points in the final set as they improved to 10-5 overall and 3-2 in the Mountain West.
Just as she did on Thursday at TCU, sophomore Raegan Shelton led SDSU in kills with 19 and also tied her career high with eight digs. Other Aztecs in double figures in kills included Emily Harris (15) and Andrea Hannasch (13). Harris hit a career-high .522 over the five sets and had a career-high eight blocks while Hannasch also contributed five blocks and four digs.
Setter Johnna Fouch finished with 53 assists, and her 14 digs meant she notched her seventh double-double of the season and second in SDSU's last two contests. Libero Kristi Jackels led all payers with 24 digs, averaging over four digs per set in a match for the 11th time this fall.
New Mexico (10-7, 3-2 MW) had four players end the afternoon in double figures in kills led by Kelly Williamson and Elsa Krieg with 14 apiece. Ashley Rhoades and Chantale Riddle totaled 12 and 10 kills respectively.
The first half of the opening set was closely contested with the teams tied at 11-11 before kills by Hannasch and Kyley Sexton gave the visitors a lead they would not relinquish. The Lobos were able to get back to within a point at 14-13, but from there San Diego State won eight straight points to take control as it rolled to the nine-point win.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair that saw the scored knotted on 11 occasions before settling at 23-23. New Mexico then rode a pair of unforced Aztec errors to claim the set victory and even the match at one game apiece.
Set number three saw UNM take a slim early lead and maintain it until SDSU tied the game at 22-22 late in the contest. The teams then alternated points to 25-all before a kill by Williamson and an Aztec attack error gave the Lobos the set victory and the upper hand in the match.
New Mexico looked to ride the momentum early on in the fourth set as they grabbed a quick lead at 4-1. After the Aztecs tied it a 10-10, the home side again forged a three-point advantage only to see SDSU even the set at 16-16. SDSU was finally able to pull away after leading 22-21 as it got kills from Paije Pearson and Hannasch plus a UNM hitting error to even the match at two sets apiece.
The fifth and deciding set did not look promising for the Aztecs as New Mexico held a late 14-9 lead with five chances to secure the match win. But SDSU was able to score five straight points to even the score at 14-all. That five-point run included kills by Pearson, Shelton and Hannasch along with two Lobo hitting errors.
San Diego State then faced another match point as a kill by Lexi Ross gave UNM a 15-14 lead, but Shelton answered with a kill of her own to knot the score once again. The Aztecs then got the final two points on kills by Shelton and Harris to nail down the set and match victory.
San Diego State now returns home for a pair of Mountain West matches that begin with a contest against Air Force on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 7:00 p.m. (PT) on Aztec Court in Peterson Gym.