Sept. 17, 2013
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Facing the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, the San Diego State volleyball team went down fighting in a three-set (25-12, 25-20, 25-21) loss to second-ranked University of San Diego Tuesday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The loss evened the Aztecs' record at 5-5 while the Toreros improved to 8-1.
Michelle Waber led all players with 11 kills with teammate Summer Nash adding eight. Emily Harris chipped in with six kills, a pair of blocks and a team-best .333 hitting percentage. Other Aztec leaders include Johnna Fouch with 28 assists and Courtney Vaccarello with nine digs.
On the other side, USD's Chloe Ferrari and Alaysia Brown had eight kills apiece for the Toreros with Ferrari adding a match-high five total blocks.
Both teams ended the three sets with 35 kills with the difference coming in the error column where SDSU had 30 compared to only 13 for USD. As a team, the Toreros hit .229 while holding the Aztecs to a .043 attack percentage.
The opening set saw USD take control from the outset as it jumped out to a 6-1 lead and increased its advantage to nine points at 15-6 en route to the one-sided victory. The Aztecs actually recorded more kills in the set than the Toreros (9-8), but SDSU's 13 errors proved to be a factor as it hit just -.108 in the contest.
In the second set, USD took an 11-4 lead and maintained that seven-point margin with a 21-14 advantage later in the contest. The Aztecs got back to within four points at 23-20, but the Toreros got back-to-back kills to claim the set.
The third set was the closest of the night as the teams stayed within a point or two of each other until the contest was knotted at 20-20. From there USD notched three straight points before Waber ended the run with a kill of her own. But USD closed out the contest with a pair of kills to secure the match victory.
San Diego State will now prepare to open its 2013 Mountain West season as it travels to Las Vegas to face UNLV on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 2:00 p.m. at the Rebels' Cox Pavilion.