Oct. 24, 2015
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - San Diego State overcame a two-set deficit as it fought back to defeat New Mexico in five sets (16-25, 16-25, 25-15, 25-23, 15-9) Saturday evening on Aztec Court. It marked the third time in their last four outings that the Aztecs had to rally to force a fifth game.
With the victory, SDSU ended a three-match losing streak and improved to 7-16 overall and 4-6 in the Mountain West. New Mexico, on the other hand, saw a three-match win streak come to an end as its record dropped to 12-10 (5-4 MW).
Junior outside hitter Baylee Little led all players with 17 kills as she established a new career high in that category. She added three digs and a block while hitting .394 over the five sets.
Two other Aztecs ended the evening in double figures in kills and both recorded double-doubles.
Alexandra Psoma had 14 kills along with a career-best 13 digs to complete her double-double effort. Danielle Bolden ended the night with 12 kills and added 10 digs while also contributing two blocks and a pair of assists.
In addition, Junior Emma Fuzie equaled her Aztec career high with six blocks and also chipped in with nine kills and two digs.
The first set was close in the opening stages with San Diego State trailing 10-8. From there, however, New Mexico would score 10 of the ensuing 12 points to go up 20-10 and take command of the contest. The teams were basically even the rest of the way as the Lobos went on to the nine-point win. Psoma led all player with four kills in the set and the Aztecs recorded as many kills as the Lobos (12), but only hit .071 compared to .348 for the visitors.
Set number two was similar to the opener as SDSU trailed by a single point at 9-8. The Lobos then scored four in a row to go up 13-8. The Aztecs were able to get no closer than four the remainder of the contest as UNM slowly expanded its advantage en route to another nine-point victory. San Diego State again matched New Mexico's kill output (11), but hit .000 for the set as its 11 errors to just two for the visitors proved costly.
It was a reversal of roles in the third set after the teams battled evenly to an 8-8 tie. SDSU then went on a six-point run to go up 14-8 and the Aztecs never looked back as they went on to a 10-point victory in the contest. Little paced the attack for San Diego State as it held the Lobos to only five kills and a .000 hitting percentage in the set. Psoma added four kills while Fuzie chipped in with a pair of blocks.
The fourth set was the closest of the match with 11 tied scores and three lead changes. New Mexico held a late lead at 20-17, but a Lobo service error, attack error and kill by Little allowed SDSU to tie it up at 20-20. The teams then alternated the next four points before the Aztecs scored two straight thanks to back-to-back UNM attack errors to go up 24-22. After a Lobo point, SDSU got the set-winning kill from Psoma to even the match at two sets apiece.
In the fifth set, New Mexico scored the opening point, but San Diego State answered with three in a row to take a lead it would not relinquish. Holding a 9-8 advantage, the Aztecs scored three in a row to go up 12-8 and put themselves in control of the contest. After UNM got a point back to make it 12-9, SDSU got kills from Bolden and Little plus a New Mexico attack error to secure the set and match victory.
The Aztecs will continue Mountain West action next week with a pair of matches in the Rocky Mountain region. That road trip begins with a visit to Fort Collins, Colo., where SDSU will take on league leaders Colorado State on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7:00 p.m. (MT).