Sept. 26, 2015
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State suffered its first Mountain West loss of the season as Air Force came from one set down to defeat the Aztecs, 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-15), Saturday afternoon on Falcon Court in Colorado Springs.
With the loss SDSU saw its record drop 4-10 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Falcons, meanwhile, improved to 8-9 on the season and 1-1 in league competition as well.
Freshman Alexandra Psoma led San Diego State with 13 kills and added three digs, a block and a service ace. Alexis Cage also ended the day in double figures in kills with 10 and contributed four digs, a block and assist.
Emma Fuzie led the Aztecs with four blocks and also had nine kills while libero Devyn Pritchard tied for match-high honors with 12 digs and also chipped in with four assists.
Setter Hailey Jones registered 25 assists and completed her third double-double of the 2015 campaign by adding 10 digs to her final stat line.
Despite those numbers, SDSU was never able to get an offensive rhythm going in the contest as they finished with a .124 team hitting percentage. Air Force, on the other hand, proved efficient on attack as it turned in a .315 hitting mark.
Despite being out-hit .417 to .138 in the opening set, the Aztecs were able to take a five-point lead at 12-7 and maintain the advantage the rest of the way. Fuzie had four kills for SDSU while Dani Bolden had a pair of service aces late in the contest to help seal the victory.
The second set was an even affair early that saw the scored tied at 8-8. The Falcons then scored the next two points to take a lead they would not relinquish. The Aztecs could only get back to within a point once (at 12-11) as the home side slowly built its advantage en route to the seven-point set win,
In set number three San Diego State built a five-point lead at 14-9 only to see Air Force fight its way back and eventually tie the contest at 18-18. After each side scored a pair of points to make to 20-all, the Falcons scored three in a row on a kill and a pair of SDSU attack errors to go up 23-20. After an Aztec point, Air Force closed out the set with the help of an SDSU service error and another hitting miscue.
The fourth set was another tight one as the Aztecs trailed by a single point midway through the contest at 11-10. From there the Falcons tallied seven of the ensuing nine points to take an 18-12 lead. Another late four-point run gave Air Force 23-14 lead and they would close out the set and match with a kill and an SDU hitting error.
San Diego State will now return home to prepare for its conference home opener that is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 1, against Wyoming at 6:00 p.m. (PT) on Aztec Court in Peterson Gym.