Oct. 12, 2013
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - In a match that saw each of the first three sets decided by three points or less, San Diego State recorded a 25-22, 24-26, 27-25, 25-19 victory over Air Force Saturday evening in Colorado Springs. The win allowed the Aztecs to improve to 9-7 overall and 4-2 in the Mountain West while the Falcons saw their record fall to 4-13 (1-4 MW).
With Summer Nash still sidelined by injury, outside hitter Michelle Waber led the SDSU offense for the second straight contest. The junior from Wildomar, Calif., topped all players in the match with 16 kills and also contributed seven digs and a block.
Other Aztecs reaching double figures in kills included Chaiymin Steel with 13 and Emily Harris with 10. Steel added three blocks assists and five digs to her final stat line while Harris recorded six total blocks (1 solo, 5 assists).
In addition, a trio of Aztecs turned in career-high efforts in various statistical categories. Sophomore outside hitter Kaja Sandberg turned in her career highs in both kills (nine) and blocks (eight) while freshman Baylee Little's five block assists were her personal best. Junior libero Justin Ricigliano also had her career high with 24 digs over the four sets.
The opening set established the tone of the night as the teams were within two points of each other the entire way before the score eventually settled in at 21-21. From there a Falcon service error, a kill by Little and an Air Force hitting error put SDSU up 24-21 before another service error gave the visitors the 25-22 victory.
Set two was more of the same as neither team could pull away. The contest featured eight lead changes and the score was tied on 14 occasions with the last time coming at 24-24. At that point an SDSU service error and hitting error gifted the Falcons the two points they needed to win the set and even the match at 1-1.
In the third set once again neither side was able to grab more than a three-point lead and the teams were dead even at 21-all. They then alternated points until at 25-25 when San Diego State got a kill from Waber followed by an Air Force hitting miscue to claim the 27-25 set victory.
The fourth set saw the Aztecs get some breathing room as, with the score knotted at 4-4, they ran off five straight points to assume control. The Falcons were able to get back only as close as three points on one occasion (16-13) before SDSU won nine of the next 13 points including the final three of the set on kills by Harris, Steel and Waber to win the match.
San Diego State now returns home for a pair of Mountain West contests that being with a match against Wyoming on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7:00 p.m. on Aztec Court in Peterson Gym.