Nov. 10, 2016
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State built a two-sets-to-one advantage, but was unable to complete the upset as it fell to league co-leader Colorado State in five sets Thursday evening on Aztec Court. The Rams prevailed by set scores of 22-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 15-9.
With the win, CSU improved to 18-7 overall and 12-2 in the Mountain West as it won for the 12th time in its last 14 matches.
San Diego State, meanwhile, saw its season-long losing streak extend to four contests as it fell to 14-14 overall and 6-8 in conference play.
The Aztecs were led by outside hitter Alexandra Psoma, who recorded a career-high 24 kills, a total that was at least twice as many as any other player in the match. The sophomore from Greece had just established a new career best with 23 kills in the match vs. Boise State on Oct. 29.
With two service aces and a pair of blocks in the contest, Psoma's total of 27.0 points in the match was also her SDSU career high. She also added six digs to her final stat line.
Although no other Aztec ended the night in double figures in kills, Alexis Cage came within a kill of recording a double-double as she ended the evening with nine kills and 10 digs. Her five blocks equaled her season high in that category.
Sophomore middle blocker Deja Harris matched her SDSU career high with nine block assists while adding eight kills and a team-best .333 hitting percentage.
Setter Indigo Thompson notched 48 assists over the five sets while libero Devyn Pritchard led the Aztecs with 13 digs.
The opening set was an even affair over the first third as there were five lead changes until San Diego State went ahead for good at 8-7. Although unable to extend their advantage to more than four points (at 20-16), the Aztecs kept Colorado State at bay as they went on to the three-point victory. Alexandra Psoma led SDSU with five kills and setter Indigo Thompson had 12 assists to match the team's 12 kills in the contest.
Set two was similar to the first as the teams stayed close with eight lead changes and six tied scores. SDSU led 12-11 before Colorado State ran off three straight points to take a lead it would not relinquish. The Aztecs fought back to within one as late as 22-21, but the Rams got a kill and a pair SDSU attack errors to claim a four-point set win. Psoma led all player with five kills.
In the third set it was San Diego State that grabbed the early lead at 5-2 and held it over the remainder of the contest. After the Rams closed to within a point at 15-14, SDSU scored four straight points and went on to the seven-point victory. For the third consecutive set, Psoma led the way with five kills, a number matched by teammate Harris.
Set number four was even up until 15-all when the Rams scored three straight points to go up for good. The closest that SDSU could get was two points at 20-18, but Colorado State scored five of the final seven points to even the match at two sets apiece. Psoma again tallied five kills, half of SDSU's total in the set.
The fifth and deciding contest belonged to Colorado State as the visitors raced out to a 12-3 lead. Trailing 14-5, the Aztec scored four consecutive points behind the serving of Danielle Bolden before a service error ended the match in favor of the Rams. Psoma led all players with four kills in the set, but the Aztecs hit just .056 in the contest compared to a .462 attack mark for CSU.
Up next for San Diego State is a match on Saturday, Nov. 12, against Mountain West foe Wyoming set to get underway at 6:00 p.m. (PT) on Aztec Court. Prior to that contest, designated as Senior Night, the Aztecs will honor four players concluding their SDSU careers this season.