Aug. 25, 2012
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - In what turned out to be a very evenly-matched contest, San Diego State recorded a five-set upset of 17th-ranked California to win the team title at the 2012 Aztec Invitational. In a match played on Aztec Court in Peterson Gym, SDSU prevailed by set scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-17, 15-25, 15-11 as it improved to 2-0 on the season.
Sophomore Michelle Waber led SDSU with 20 kills and was named the tournament MVP after averaging 4.50 kills, 1.12 digs and 0.62 blocks per set over the Aztecs' two matches.
Senior middle blocker Andrea Hannasch added 19 kills for San Diego State and was also named to the four-person all-tourney squad. Emily Harris also finished in double figures in kills for the Aztecs and led all players in the match with nine blocks.
For the Golden Bears, Adrienne Gehan led the way with a match-high 21 kills while teammate Lara Vukasovic added 11. Kat Brown led Cal with seven total blocks while libero Mary McKennon added 23 digs.
The opening set saw Cal take the early lead before San Diego State went ahead for good at 9-8. The Aztec built their advantage to as many as seven points (18-11) before the Golden Bears rallied late to get within a point at 23-2. SDSU then got a kill from Waber and a Cal hitting error to close out the contest. Waber led all players with eight kills while Harris had four blocks.
The second set was a tight affair with neither side able to grab more than a two-point lead leading to a tied contest at 20-20. From there the visitors ran off five straight points on a pair of SDSU hitting errors, kills by Gehan and Vukasovic plus a bad set by the Aztecs to pullout the 25-20 victory. Gehan led the Bears with six kills, a total matched in the set by SDSDU's Hannasch.
Set number three saw San Diego lead from start to finish as it built an early lead into an eight-point final margin of victory. Hannasch led the Aztecs with five kills while Waber contributed four. Both teams had the offense going as SDSDU hit .487 for the set compared to Cal's mark of .345.
Cal took control of the fourth set as it took the lead at 4-3 and never looked back as it built its advantage over the course of the contest. Gehan led the Bears with five kills with teammate Shannon Hawari recording four blocks. The Aztec totaled only nine kills in the set and finished with a .000 hitting percentage while the ears hit .278.
In the fifth and deciding set, San Diego State took an early 2-1 lead and increased it to a four-point difference at 9-5 and seemed to be in control of the contest, But the Bears fought back to get within one point at 12-11 before the Aztecs got a kill from Summer Nash and two from Hannasch to close out the game and match.
San Diego State will now prepare host its second consecutive tournament next weekend with the four-team Holiday Inn Mission Valley Aztec Challenge to be held on Aztec Court in Peterson Gym. The tourney gets underway on Friday, Aug. 31 with Utah State Montana at 5:00 p.m. followed by SDSU against Sacred Heart at 7:30 p.m.