Nov. 12, 2011
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego claimed sole possession of second place in the Mountain West final season standings as it defeated Air Force in three sets (25-19, 25-10, 25-22) Saturday evening in Colorado Springs. The win improved the Aztecs to 17-8 overall as they finish with a 10-4 mark in league play.
The 17 wins are the most by San Diego State since finishing 18-14 during the 2003 campaign. Its second-place finish matches its best-ever placing in the Mountain West after accomplishing the same feat in 2002.
For the second match in a row it was sophomore Summer Nash leading the Aztec attack as she ended the night with 12 kills and a .455 hitting percentage. She added seven digs and a pair of blocks to her stat line and was the lone player from either side to reach double figures in kills.
Andrea Hannasch and Emily Harris added six kills each for SDSU. Hannasch had four blocks and .400 for the match while Harris recorded three blocks and had a .385 attack percentage. Setter Johnna Fouch contributed 38 assists over three sets with libero Kristi Jackels leading all players with a dozen digs.
The opening set was even over the first third with SDSU holding a slim 9-8 lead. From there the visitors built a five-point lead, running out to a 15-10 advantage behind two kills apiece from Nash and Raegan Shelton. Air Force (3-24, 0-14 MW) could get no closer than four the rest of the way as the Aztecs went on to the six-point win. Shelton and Hannasch tallied four kills apiece in the contest.
San Diego State wasted little time in taking control of set two, scoring the first three points en route to jumping out to a dominating 12-4 lead. SDSU added to that lead over the remainder of the game eventually winning by 15. Nash added five kills, just two less than Air Force was able to muster in the set. The Aztecs' efficiency both offensively and defensively was evident form its .478 hitting percentage while holding the Falcons to a -.115 mark.
Set number three looked to be a repeat of the second as San Diego State took a 10-3 lead to start the contest and led 16-8 later in the game. But Air Force fought back, cutting the Aztec lead to a single point at 21-20. The teams traded points before kills by Nash and Chaiymin Steel gave SDSU a 24-21 lead. A Falcon kill brought then to within two, but Nash then finished off the match with her 12th kills of the night to give San Diego State the win.
The victory coupled with TCU's loss to Wyoming earlier in the day means SDSU will have the No. 2 seed at next week's conference tournament in Albuquerque and will face No. 7 seed UNLV in the first round. That match, which will be televised live on The Mtn network, is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 18, at noon (MT).