Oct. 31, 2013
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State volleyball team turned in its highest hitting percentage of the season as it dispatched Air Force in three sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-22) Thursday evening on Aztec Court in Peterson Gym. By closing out the month of October with a victory, SDSU improved to 11-10 overall and 6-5 in the Mountain West.
The Aztecs' team hitting mark of .380 eclipsed their previous season high of .347 that came against Harvard back on Sept. 13 during the Aztec Invitational.
Four starters ended the match with attack percentages of .333 or better led by Emily Harris. The senior middle blocker led San Diego State with 11 kills to go along with a .667 hitting percentage, her highest of the year. Harris also contributed five blocks including one solo effort and five block assists.
Sophomore Kaja Sandberg led all players with eight blocks, the same total she recorded against Air Force in Colorado Springs in mid-October. She registered a .417 hitting percentage over the three sets with five kills and no errors.
Raegan Shelton chipped in with 10 kills to go along with a block, two digs and a personal season-best .333 hitting mark. Junior Chaiymin Steel ended the night with six kills with four blocks and .385 attack percentage.
Air Force's Akokwe Clement led all players in the match with 13 kills, but the Falcons (5-17, 2-8 MW) hit just .125 as a team and ended the contest with two team blocks compared to 13 for the Aztecs.
The first set was an evenly contested affair with neither team able to get fashion as much as a two-point lead until the Falcons went ahead 11-9. Trailing 13-12, the Aztecs rattled off four straight points to take the lead for good at 16-13. Air Force got back to within a point as 16-15, but that's as close as they would get as SDSU went on to the six-point victory. Shelton led the home side with five kills and a .714 hitting percentage in the set.
Set number two saw the Falcons with the early lead at 3-1 before San Diego State slowly stating building a lead of its own and went up 11-6. From there SDSU held off the Falcons, allowing them to score two points in a row only once the remainder of the contest. Harris had five kills on five attempts in the set to pace the Aztecs.
The third set was more of the same as Air Force held the early advantage before San Diego State surged ahead at 12-9. The Falcons, however, would not give in as they tied the contest at 16-16. The Aztecs then captured the ensuing three points and led the rest of the way although the visitors came as close as one point at 22-21 before SDSU notched three of the final four points to close out the set and match.
San Diego State continues home action on Saturday (Nov. 2) when it hosts New Mexico for a contest slated to get underway at noon on Aztec Court.