Nov. 24, 2015
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - San Diego State sent its senior class off in style as it posted a three-set victory over Nevada (25-12, 25-22, 25-23) in the season finale for both teams Tuesday evening on Aztec Court. The win completed a late-season surge for the Aztecs, who ended their 2015 campaign with victories in five of their final six matches.
With the win, SDSU concluded its season with an overall record of 12-19 and 9-9 in the Mountain West. The Wolf Pack's final ledger read 12-18 overall and 7-11 in league play.
Three Aztecs tied for the team lead with eight kills apiece in the contest led by senior outside hitter Ciara Brown, who also recorded four digs and an assist. SDSU's other senior, middle blocker Kaja Sandberg, finished with four kills, a block, and a .300 hitting percentage.
Junior Emma Fuzie and redshirt freshman Deja Harris also registered eight kills apiece with Harris adding a pair of blocks and Fuzie contributing four blocks and a dig.
Libero Devyn Pritchard led all players with 10 digs and also had six assists and three service aces as she matched her career high in the latter category.
Setter Hailey Jones finished the evening with 19 assists and six digs plus a kill while fellow setter Lauren Utchen had 13 assists and seven digs.
San Diego State hit .425 as a team over the three sets, its highest hitting percentage in match this season. It was the Aztecs' highest attack mark since hitting .438 against Montana on Sept. 1, 2012.
In the first set, San Diego State quickly found itself in a 4-1 hole as two kills and two SDSU attack errors gave Nevada four of the first five points. The Aztecs, however, did not panic and slowly got back into the contest. Trailing 8-6, the home side ran off seven straight points to go up 13-8 and take control of the contest. After the slow start, SDSU hit .394 in the set and held the Wolf Pack to a .079 attack mark. Fuzie and Alexis Cage paced the Aztecs offense with three kills apiece.
Set number two was a closer contest that featured seven lead changes and 13 tied scores. San Diego State trailed when the Wolf Pack went ahead 5-4 until they tied it up at 15-15. From there neither side could forge more than a two-point lead and the score eventually settled in at 22-all. The Aztecs then used a kill by Harris, a Nevada attack error and a bad Wolf Pack set to claim the three-point set win. Fuzie along with Brown recorded three kills apiece for SDSU, which hit .345 in the game.
The third saw the Aztecs play from behind for much of the contest although they never fell behind by more than two points. They took their first lead at 19-18, but from there the teams alternated points up until 20-all at which time SDSU scored three in a row on a service ace by Pritchard and a pair of Wolf Pack hitting miscues. A kill by Baylee Little gave the Aztecs a 24-21 lead, but the visitors got back to within a point at 24-23 before Cage recorded the set and match-winning kill. Harris and Brown had four kills each as SDU hit .560 in the set.
With the victory, San Diego State finishes in a tie for fifth place in the final Mountain West standings after being picked sixth in the coaches' preseason poll. The Aztecs' 9-9 league record also means that they have finished at .500 or above in conference play each of the past six seasons.