Oct. 20, 2015
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - San Diego State came up short in its annual match against the University of San Diego as it fell to the Toreros in three sets (25-23, 25-21, 25-13) Tuesday evening at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion.
With the loss SDSU saw its record fall to 6-15 on the year. USD, meanwhile, improved to 14-6 as it won its fifth straight match.
Senior Kaja Sandberg led San Diego State with nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage while adding a block and dig to her final stat line. Baylee Little had six kills with a .333 attack mark plus three blocks and a pair of digs.
Four other Aztecs finished the night with four kills apiece while setters Hailey Jones and Lauren Utchen recorded 14 and 13 assists respectively. In addition, libero Devyn Pritchard tied for match-high honors with nine digs.
San Diego State's offense was unable to get on track against the more experienced Torero side as the Aztecs ended the match with a team hitting percentage of .090 compared to .277 for the host team.
The first set was a tight affair in which the teams remained close throughout. After 14 tied scores and eight lead changes the scoreboard read 22-22 late in the contest. From there, pair of SDSU attack errors gave USD a 24-22 lead, but a kill by Sandberg got the Aztecs to within one. However, an SDSU service error provided the home side with the point it needed to secure the set victory.
The second set saw San Diego State works its way into a three-point advantage at 16-13 only to see the Toreros score six of the ensuing seven points to take a 19-17 lead. The Aztecs won the next point, but could get no closer the rest of the way as USD went on to the four-point set win. Sandberg had five kills to pace the SDSU attack.
The third set saw the teams fight to an 8-8 tie before USD took control of the set by scoring seven of the next eight points. The Aztecs managed only eight kills in the contest and a .037 hitting percentage while the Toreros had 15 kills and a .560 attack efficiency. USD went on to score the set's final six points to close out the match.
San Diego State will now return home where it will host a pair of Mountain West matches later this week. That home stand begins with a contest against Air Force on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 6:00 p.m. on Aztec Court.