Oct. 29, 2016
SAN DIEGO - After dropping the opening two sets to league-leading Boise State, the San Diego State volleyball team found the deficit too much to overcome as it dropped a four-set decision to the Broncos Saturday evening on Aztec Court. Boise State prevailed by set scores of 25-19, 25-21, 14-25, 25-23.
With the loss, the Aztecs saw their overall record slip to 14-11 and 6-5 in the Mountain West. The victory improved the Broncos to 19-6 overall and 10-2 in conference play.
Sophomore outside hitter Alexandra Psoma had a stellar night for the home side as she finished with a career-high 23 kills and a .474 hitting percentage as she eclipsed her previous best of 19 kills set at Rhode Island in early September. She also added six digs and a block to cap off a fine all-around performance.
Two other Aztecs ended the night in double figures in kills as senior Alexis Cage recorded 11 and sophomore Deja Harris had 10. Cage also chipped in with nine digs and an assist while Harris added three blocks to her final stat line.
Libero Devyn Pritchard led all players in the contest with 16 digs while setter Indigo Thompson turned in her fifth double-double of the year with 44 assists and 12 digs.
San Diego State came out and scored the first three points of the opening set before Boise State fought back to tie it up at 4-4. With the score knotted at 5-5, the Broncos scored the ensuing three points to take a lead they would not relinquish. The Aztecs were within three as late as 17-14, but were unable to catch up. Psoma led all players with eight kills in the contest, but SDSU hit just .129 as a team while the visitors compiled a .379 attack percentage.
The second set saw Boise State take the early lead before San Diego State, down 10-7, score six straight points to take a 13-10 lead. The contest eventually moved into a tie at 14-all and the teams went back and forth until the scoreboard read 21-21. The Broncos then scored the next four points on an SDSU attack error and three kills to take the set and go up 2-0 in the match.
After the break, San Diego State came out like a different team as it quickly ran out to a 6-1 lead. The lone tie in the contest came at 9-9, but the Aztecs scored the next three points and slowly pulled away for the nine-point win. Psoma led all players with five kills as SDSU hit .536 as a team in the set.
In the fourth contest, the teams stayed within a point or two of each other until the Broncos took a three-point lead at 19-16. The Aztecs, however, found a way to come back and they tied the set at 21-21. The teams traded two points apiece to 23-all before a kill and a combination block secured the set and match victory for Boise State. Psoma again recorded the most kills in the set with six.
San Diego State will now prepare for next week's two-match Mountain West road trip that begins with a contest at San Jose State on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 6:00 p.m. (PT).