Nov. 14, 2012
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State put together a solid all-around team performance as it upset 18th-ranked University of San Diego, 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 18-25, 25-21) Wednesday night on Aztec Court in Peterson Gym. The annual meeting between the schools saw SDSU end a nine-match losing streak at the hands of the Toreros as it recorded its 10th straight win to improve to 21-7 on the season.
The Aztecs were led by junior outside hitter Raegan Shelton who ended the night with a team-high 17 kills along with six digs and a block while hitting .412. Teammate Andrea Hannasch tallied 15 kills and added five blocks and six digs to end the evening tied with Shelton at 17.5 points over the four sets.
Emily Harris also finished in double figures in kills with 11 and led all players with nine blocks, one shy of her career high. Sophomore Chaiymin Steel was also prominent at the net as she notched six blocks with seven kills, two digs and a pair of assists. Setter Johnna Fouch, meanwhile, turned in her ninth double-double of the season (and fourth in the last five matches) with 44 assists and 10 digs.
For USD (20-6), Sandra Lozic ended the contest with a match-high 18 kills and also contributed 10 digs and three blocks while fellow Torero Carrie Baird chipped in with 10 kills and nine digs.
The opening set was indicative of the closeness of the match over the course of the evening as it featured six lead changes and saw the score tied on 15 occasions. The final tie came at 23-23 before back-to-back kills by Shelton and Hannasch tipped the contest in SDSU's favors and gave the home side a 1-0 lead in the match. Hannasch and Steel had four kills apiece for the Aztecs, who hit .324 in the set, while Amber Tatsch led the visitors with four kills as well.
The second set was another close affair that saw the score knotted at 16-all. A kill by Michelle Waber and a Torero hitting miscue gave SDSU a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Aztecs held the advantage at 21-20 and from there won four of the final five points in the set on a pair of kills by Harris, one from Shelton and a USD attack error. Harris along with USD's Lozic led their respective teams with five kills apiece as the Aztecs went into the break with a 2-0 set lead.
After the intermission, USD came out determined to get back into the match and they did so by taking the lead for good at 9-8 and building their advantage to as many as eight before claiming the set by a seven-point margin. The Toreros hit .351 in the contest with Lozic leading the way with seven kills.
The fourth set went back and forth with the lead changing hands five times, but neither team able to pull away. With the score knotted at 15-all, the Aztecs used a small run to go out to a three-point lead at 20-17. USD, however, fought back to within a point at 22-21 before SDSU closed out the set and match courtesy a kill by Hannasch, a Torero hitting error and a match-winning combination block by Hannasch and Steel. Shelton and Hannasch recorded five kills apiece in the set with Harris contributing three blocks.
The Aztecs will now prepare close out the road portion of their 2012 regular-season schedule as they travel to Albuquerque for a Mountain West contest against New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 17, a 11:00 a.m. (MT) in the Lobos' Johnson Center.