SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team captured three out of five sets from visiting UC Irvine (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 11-15) in an exhibition match Friday inside Aztec Court at Peterson Gym.
SDSU was paced by the duo of Hannah Turnlund and Victoria O'Sullivan, who recorded 15 kills apiece, while Lexie Hamrick finished with eight put-aways of her own. Turnlund hit .382 for the contest and contributed six digs and two blocks, while O'Sullivan registered three block assists of her own.
The Aztec cause was also aided by Camryn Machado, who dished out 32 assists, while Loren Teter led the defense with 10 digs and served up three aces.
Despite trailing in total blocks (14.0-9.0) and digs (52-51), SDSU outhit the Anteaters .238 to .203, maintaining a 61-56 advantage in kills to go with a 7-4 spread in service aces.
The Aztecs built a pair of seven-point leads in the first set, including a 12-5 bulge after a service error by UCI's Chloe Owens. However, the Anteaters stormed back with a 10-2 blitz, with Loren Carter and Onye Ofoegbu combining on a block to give the visitors a slim 15-14 edge.
Unfazed, the Scarlet and Black responded with a 5-0 spurt to take the lead for good, with Hamrick teaming with Maddie Lenn on a block to put the hosts ahead 19-15. Shortly thereafter, Hamrick, O'Sullivan and Turnlund each came through with a kill down the stretch to keep UCI at bay.
The Scarlet and Black found itself on the wrong side of the score during the opening stages of the set two, including a 12-7 deficit following a block by the Anteaters' Makayla Wolfe and Sophie Wood. However, the Aztecs flashed their resiliency, engineering a 12-3 surge to vault in front to stay. Abby Pugh keyed the run with a kill, service ace and two blocks (one solo) to help give the Aztecs a 19-15 cushion.
The two sides battled through eight ties and four lead changes in a grueling third set that saw SDSU rally from an early 5-0 deficit. The Aztecs nursed a late 23-21 lead following a Nya Blair kill and a UCI attack error. However, the Anteaters fought themselves off the mat with a 4-0 spurt, thanks to a pair of kills by Wood and one apiece by Abby Marjama and Wolfe.
The Aztecs found themselves trailing 10-9 in the fourth stanza before fashioning a 9-1 outburst, fueled by three consecutive O'Sullivan kills. Facing an 18-11 deficit, the Anteaters clawed back into contention, capitalizing on two SDSU setting errors and an errant serve, while Wood and Marjama punctuated a 9-3 run with back-to-back kills to pull UCI to within 21-20.
However, the hosts stood their ground, with a Turnlund kill and a combined block by Lenn and Pugh providing the clinching points. Collectively, the Aztecs posted their best hitting percentage of the match during the set at .379 on 17 kills with just four errors, while UCI managed only a .182 clip.
The Aztecs fought through five ties but could not gain the upper hand following a Blair kill, which knotted the score at 11-11. The Anteaters responded with four straight points, highlighted by a Wood kill and a service ace, while Loryn Carter provided the clinching tally with a non-returnable of her own.
Carter led UCI with 14 kills, while Wood (12) and Marjama (11) recorded double-digit put-aways as well. In addition, Owens led all players with 19 digs, while Wolfe and Wood had seven block assists each.
San Diego State opens its 2019 regular-season schedule on Friday, Aug. 30, when it squares off against Akron in the Florida Gulf Coast Classic in Fort Myers, Florida. First serve is set for 10:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. PT.