Oct. 19, 2014
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Diego State rebounded form Thursday night's loss at Nevada as it defeated San Jose State in three sets (25-20, 25-15, 25-16) Saturday evening at Spartan Gym in San Jose, Calif. With the victory the Aztec improved to 8-9 overall and 4-3 in the Mountain West. The loss dropped San Jose State's record to 3-17 overall as they remain winless in conference play at 0-7.
Redshirt freshman Alexis Cage led SDSU for the second straight match, recording nine kills to go along with two blocks, three digs and an assist. Teammate Halle Aiken registered eight kills plus a pair of service aces, seven digs and a block while senior Chaiymin Steel tallied seven kills and five blocks.
Junior outside hitter Kaja Sandberg led all players with six blocks while freshman setter Courtney Eckenrode had a match-high 29 assists along with three service aces and a personal season-best four blocks.
San Jose State's Nandyala Gama had 10 kills for the Spartans, who hit .064 over the three sets compared to .247 for San Diego State.
SDSU got off to a slow start to begin the match as it found itself down 5-0 in the opening set. The Aztecs fought their way back into the contest, however, eventually knotting the score at 17-17. After each team scored a pair of points, the Aztec ran off five in a row to go up 24-19 on kills by Aiken, Danielle Bolden and Jensen Cunningham plus a pair of Spartan errors. After the home side got a point back, Steel recorded the set-winning kill.
Set number two saw the Aztecs get off the mark quickly as they ran out to an early 10-4 lead. They extended their advantage to 15-5 and maintained that 10-point margin over the remainder of the game. Sandberg, Aiken and Cage had three kills apiece for SDSU as the team hit .320 in the set while holding the home side to a .000 hitting percentage.
The third set was a closer affair as the teams battled to a 10-10 score line. San Diego State then scored five consecutive points aided by four San Jose State miscues and a kill by Cunningham. The Aztecs slowly built on that lead and claimed a nine-point set win and a 3-0 match victory. Cage had five kills in the set and hit .571.
San Diego State will now have a short turnaround as it returns home and prepares for a match on Monday, Oct. 20, against conference rival UNLV scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start on Aztec Court.