Sept. 27, 2014
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State got its 2014 Mountain West season of on a positive note with a four-set (25-20, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23) victory over Fresno State Saturday afternoon on Aztec Court. With the win SDSU improves to 5-6 overall (1-0 MW) while the Bulldogs saw their record fall to 5-11 (02-2 MW).
Halle Aiken led SDSU with 16 kills and also had two blocks and a dig while hitting .316 for the match. Ciara Brown joined Aiken in double figures in kills with 10.
Freshman setter Courtney Eckenrode finished with 40 assists and chipped in defensively with nine digs. Libero Alexa Saba recorded 14 digs and 4 assists. Jensen Cunningham and Chaiymin Steel registered three blocks apiece as well.
Fresno State's Zana Bowens led all players with 18 kills and also turned in a match-high 21 digs.
The opening set saw San Diego State jump out to a quick 6-1 lead and hold the advantage over the entire contest. The Bulldogs closed to within two late in the game at 22-20, but the Aztecs ran off the final three points on a kills by Brown and a pair of FSU hitting errors. Fresno's Bowens led all players with six kills while Aiken and Steel led SDSU with four kills apiece.
Set two was close over the initial stages with the score knotted at 7-7 early on. At that point SDSU took a two-point lead on a kill by Steel and service ace by Saba. The Aztecs slowly built on that lead over the remainder of the contest eventually claiming the eight-point set win. Aiken added six kills to her total in the set while Brown contributed four.
In set number three it was Fresno State that took the early lead and held it until SDSU caught up at 17-17. The teams traded points up until 21-21 when the Bulldogs got back-to-back points on two SDSU attack errors. The Aztecs got back to within a point at 24-23, but a kill by Maci Murdock secured the set win for the visitors. Cunningham led San Diego State with three kills and two blocks in the contest.
In the fourth set, San Diego State went ahead at 4-3 and led until the Bulldogs caught up at 22-22. The Aztecs then got kills from Cunningham and Steel, and after a Bulldog kill made it 24-23, a bad set by the visitors provided SDSU with the set and match-winning point.
The Aztecs will now hit the road to continue Mountain West action as they visit Laramie, Wyo., on Thursday, Oct. 2, for a match against the Wyoming Cowgirls at 7:00 p.m. (MT) in the UniWyo Sports Complex.