Nov. 6, 2014
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - An improved Air Force team proved too much for San Diego State Thursday night as the Falcons downed the Aztecs in three sets (25-17, 25-22, 25-18) on Falcon Court in Colorado Springs, Colo. The results meant the end of SDSU's eight-match win streak against Air Force that dated back to the 2010 season.
With the loss San Diego State fell under the .500 mark as its record dropped to 11-12 overall (6-6 Mountain West). Air Force, meanwhile, improved to 12-15 overall and 6-7 in league play. Their six wins in conference games this season is their highest mark since joining the Mountain West.
Hall Aiken led the Aztecs with 10 kills and added six digs, two blocks and an assist to her final stat line. Cassie O'Hara contributed seven kills along with a team-high three blocks and .294 hitting percentage.
Senior Chaiymin Steel led all player with 13 digs while Ciara Brown matched O'Hara's total of three blocks. Courtney Eckenrode tallied 31 assists over the three sets along with three kills and a pair of digs.
Air Force's Taylor Parker was the only player other than Aiken to record double figures in kills as she ended the evening with 12. The Falcons hit .241 as a team in the match while the Aztecs could muster only a .080 attack mark.
In the opening set SDSU had a brief lead at 2-1, but Air Force scored the next three points to take the lead for good at 4-2. The Aztecs got no closer than two over the remainder of the contest as the Falcons slowly built their advantage en route to the eight-point victory.
The second set was more of the same as SDSU held an early 5-4 lead before the Falcons went ahead with three straight points and were never caught. The Aztecs stayed within striking distance the rest of the way and trailed by just a single point as late as 23-22, but consecutive SDSU hitting errors enabled the home side to secure the set win.
Set number three was tied twice over the first four points before Air Force scored seven of the next nine to take a 9-4 lead. The Falcons increased their lead to 16-9 a few points later and held onto that seven-point advantage to the end of the contest.
San Diego state will now move on to Albuquerque where it will face New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 1:00 p.m. at UNM's Johnson Center.