Nov. 1, 2012
LAS VEGAS - San Diego State moved into sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Thursday night with a 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-19, 25-20) win over UNLV at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. With the victory the Aztecs improved to 17-7 overall and 8-3 in conference play, a half-game ahead of Fresno State (7-3), UNLV (7-3) and Colorado State (7-3).
Michelle Waber led SDSDU with 17 kills and also contributed four digs, two blocks and a service ace. Senior Andrea Hannasch also finished in double figures in kills with 12 and added five blocks as she continues her march to become the Aztecs' all-tine leader in block assists.
Setter Johnna Fouch had 44 digs along with 13 digs as she recorded her sixth double-double of the 2012 campaign. Libero Kristi Jackels led all players with 23 digs while teammates Halle Aiken and Courtney Vaccarello notched 11 and 10 respectively.
Madeline Westman led the Rebels with 12 kills while Sekola Falemaka ended the evening with 11. UNLV hit just .139 as a team over the four sets compared to .211 for San Diego State.
The opening set saw the score tied three times in the early going until, at 4-4, the Aztecs took the lead for good by winning four of the ensuing five points with Waber accounting for three kills during that surge. The game remained close, however, with the Rebels trailing by only one at 15-14 when SDSU put together another four-point run on kills by Waber and Hannasch plus a pair of Rebel miscues. The Aztecs went on to the seven-point victory as the Raegan Shelton led both teams with seven kills.
Set two again saw SDSU get off to a quick start and take a 7=4 lead, only to have UNLV come back to tie the contest at 11-11. After the teams exchanged points, the home side scored three in a row and took control of the game en route to a six-point win that evened the match at one set apiece. Falemaka and teammate Daryn Glenn had five kills each, a number matched by SDSU's Chaiymin Steel.
The third set was the closest of the night as nine tied scores and five lead changes saw the teams knotted at 19-19. From there the Aztecs took charge, scoring six straight to capture the contest. Those six points came courtesy of kills by Steel, Waber and Hannasch, a service ace by Halle Aiken and two Rebel hitting errors. Waber ended the set with seven kills as the Aztecs grabbed the momentum and a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set was another close affair as the teams battled to a 13-13 draw midway through the contest. At that point SDSU edged ahead by three on kills y Steel and Summer Nash along with a Rebel hitting error. UNLV was unable to get closer than two (at 16-14) the reminder of the contest and the Aztecs slowly extended their advantage to as many as seven points (23-16) before eventually capturing the set by five. Hannasch and Waber had four kills apiece to lead the way for SDSU.
San Diego State now moves on to Fresno where it will face Fresno State in an important Mountain West showdown on Saturday, Nov. 3, at noon in the Bulldogs' Save Mart Center