SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team used a .300 hitting percentage in a 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-21) sweep of conference foe Utah State at Peterson Gym on Thursday night. With the win, the Aztecs improve to 8-18 (6-7 Mountain West) while the Aggies drop to 5-19 (3-10 MW).
SDSU's coldest run of the night occurred right at the start, as the Aggies jumped out to a 9-5 lead. The Aztecs, however, rallied for a 5-1 run which included kills by Erin Gillcrist and Hannah Turnlund to tie the set at 10-10. SDSU and USU continued to battle back-and-forth in the opening game, but after a Loren Teter service ace gave the Aztecs a 17-16 lead, the Aztecs cruised to a 25-22 first-set win after a pair of late-set kills by Reeves and a kill by Andrea Walker helped the Aztecs jump out a 1-0 lead.
The Aztecs carried their offensive momentum into the second set, as Deja Harris (five kills on six attempts in the second set) led the Aztecs to a 25-15 set win where SDSU logged a .500 hitting percentage. With the second set tied at 9-9, the Aztecs used an 8-0 run to gain a commanding 17-8 lead. In addition to Harris' second-set performance, Turnlund recorded four of SDSU's 14 second-set kills.
SDSU quickly set the tone in the third set, jumping out to a 9-4 advantage after Turnlund's third kill of the young third set. Utah State was able to rally off a 4-0 run, cutting SDSU's lead to 10-8, but the Aztecs continued to rely heavily on Turnlund, who recorded seven third-set kills to give SDSU a match-clinching 25-21 win.
Turnlund led all players in the match with 13 kills and converted an efficient clip, recording a .417 hitting percentage. Harris also recorded an efficient offensive night, posting nine kills on 19 attempts with just one error for a .421 hitting percentage.
Gabi Peoples recorded 33 assists to set up the offense, while Ashlynn Dunbar led the defensive effort with 11 digs.
SDSU outhit USU, .300 - .128 and owned a 7-2 advantage in service aces. Blocks in the match were tied at 4-4, while SDSU recorded 35 digs against USU's 24.
NOTES
- SDSU improved to 4-1 in its last five home matches. Three of SDSU's final five matches are at home.
- SDSU improves to 32-18 (.640) in matches played in November since 2011.
- All nine of SDSU's wins this season have come when they record more digs than their opponents (SDSU recorded 35 digs in comparison to USU's 21). Eight of SDSU's nine wins have come when the Aztecs record as many or more blocks than their opponents.
- SDSU improves to 6-2 in their last eight matches against the Aggies. SDSU swept the season series with Utah State, marking the first time since 2015 which the Aztecs have accomplished that feat.
- Hannah Turnlund's seven third-set kills are tied for the most by an Aztec in a single set this season.
UP NEXT
SDSU looks to sweep the season series with Boise State on Saturday, hosting the Broncos for a 6:00 p.m. contest at Peterson Gym.
Volleyball Sweeps By Utah State
