Sept. 17, 2016
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State completed a perfect weekend with three-set victories over Long Beach State (25-19, 25-22, 25-20) and Cal State Fullerton (25-13, 25-16, 25-12) on Saturday on Aztec Court. Those wins, couple with the three-set triumph over UC Santa Barbara Friday evening, improved the Aztecs to 8-5 as they end the week on a four-match winning streak.
Against Cal State Fullerton (5-9), Deja Harris led the way with 10 kills over the three sets and an impressive .909 hitting percentage while adding three blocks to her stat line.
Alexandra Psoma contributed nine kills, six digs and a block while hitting .533 in the match. Alexis Cage (six kills) and Emma Fuzie (three kills, tied for match honors with five blocks apiece while libero Devyn Pritchard had 15 digs and Indigo Thompson 32 assists.
San Diego State ended the match with a team hitting percentage of .307 compared to just -.081 for Fullerton.
SDSU controlled the first set from the start, running out to a 16-8 lead and going ahead by as many as 13 points at 24-11 before closing out the contest on a kill by Ashlynn Dunbar. The Aztecs hit .250 as a team and their defense held the visitors to a meager -.182 hitting percentage.
The second set was closer affair with the score being tied at 9-9 before SDSU exerted its influence to control the contest. The Aztecs ran off three consecutive points to go up 12-9 and built on that advantage over the remainder of the set. The Titans improved their hitting percentage to .147 in the second contest, but SDSU finished with a .370 attack mark for the set.
Set three was similar to the first two, but this time the Aztecs jumped out to a 10-4 lead and did not allow the Titans to get closer that within two (at 13-11) the rest of the way. When the visitors did pull to within two, SDSU scored six quick points to re-take control with a 19-11 lead. The Aztecs allowed CSUF to score just one more point before rattling of the final six to take the set and match.
In the opening match Saturday afternoon, San Diego State got 13 kills apiece from freshman Ashlynn Dunbar (.310 hitting percentage) and Psoma (.407 hitting percentage) in the three-set win over Long Beach State (6-7). As a team the Aztecs compiled a .336 attack mark while holding the 49ers to a .183 percentage.
Harris also finished in double figures in kills with 11 and hit .474 over the three sets. Freshman outside hitter Tami Reeves had five kills to go along with her match-high four blocks while Alexis Cage also added five kills and three blocks.
SDSU setter Indigo Thompson had her SDSU best with 44 assists and just missed her fourth double-double of the year with nine assists. The sophomore from Plymouth, Minn., also picked up her first two kills of the season along with a pair of blocks.
In addition, Pritchard led all players with 15 digs with Danielle Bolden adding 11.
All three sets in the match were close late before the Aztecs took control and went on to win each contest. In the opener, SDU led by a single point at 17-16, but scored four consecutive points and went on to the six-point win with Dunbar recording the set-winning kill.
In the second set the score was tied at 22-22 and from there a kill by Psoma, a 49er attack error and a combination block by Thompson and Cage gave the home side a three-point victory.
Set three saw the score tied at 16-16 before San Diego State scored seven of the ensuing nine points to go up 23-18. The teams then traded a pair of points with Reeves notching the match-winning kill.
San Diego State will continue its current five-match home stand with a match against the University of San Diego on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 6:00 p.m. on Aztec Court.