SAN DIEGO – San Diego State fought valiantly against the nation's 13th-ranked team at home Saturday, but Colorado State possessed too much firepower in the end, posting a 3-0 decision (25-21, 25-23, 25-23) in a Mountain West match inside Aztec Court at Peterson Gym.
Despite owning a slight advantage in team blocks (9.0-7.0) and committing eight fewer attack errors (18-10), the Aztecs trailed by a wide margin in kills (52-34) and were outhit .301 to .242, falling to 12-13 on the year and 5-9 in conference action. In addition, the Rams maintained a 48-35 edge in digs to help raise their record to 24-1 overall and an unblemished 14-0 mark in the MW.
SDSU was paced by Andrea Walker's eight kills, while Hannah Turnlund floored seven shots, followed by Victoria O'Sullivan, Erin Gillcrist and Tamia Reeves (.545), who finished with six put-aways each. Additionally, Reeves led all players with five block assists, while Lauren Lee posted seven digs.
The Aztecs found themselves on the wrong side of a 12-4 score in the opening set before unleashing a 14-7 blitz to cut the deficit to one. Lee and Turnlund each served up aces during that stretch, while Reeves combined with Gillcrist and Camryn Machado on a pair of blocks, respectively, to help the host school narrow the gap to 19-18.
Much like Thursday contest against Wyoming, SDSU was unable to sustain the momentum, as CSU fashioned a 6-3 closing run to keep the Scarlet and Black at bay. Sasha Colombo keyed the surge with a pair of kills, while Olivia Nicholson and Kirstie Hillyer added one apiece, with the latter joining forces with Katie Oleksak on a stuff at the net for the clinching point.
The Aztecs kept battling in the second set, which featured 10 ties. Both sides recorded just four attack errors in the frame; however, the Rams knocked down three more kills (18-15) to escape. CSU led by as many as four after an errant attack afforded the visitors an 11-7 advantage.
SDSU managed to stay within contention, knotting the score on six occasions, but never gaining the upper hand. O'Sullivan bolstered the Aztecs' fortunes with three kills in that span, adding a solo block and a block assist, while Gillcrist launched two non-returnables of her own. Reeves provided another kill to forge a 22-22 deadlock.
Yet the Rams found a way to fight themselves off the ropes once again, as Nicholson sparked a 3-1 spurt with two kills, sandwiched around another by Jessica Jackson.
SDSU repeatedly flashed their mettle in the third set, overcoming a series of three-point deficits, including an 11-8 spread after a Jackson kill. Stung, the Aztecs responded with a 9-3 outburst, fueled by two Gillcrist put-aways and a pair of Walker blocks (1 solo). The Scarlet and Black also benefited from two additional Ram attack errors and a bad set, but could not give itself any further separation.
Colorado State countered with four straight points, but SDSU regained the lead shortly thereafter on back-to-back Turnlund kills. Nursing a slim 19-18 advantage, the Aztecs had their momentum snuffed out by a 4-1 Rams run, with Nicholson and Jackson each recording a kill to go with a combined block, while Breana Runnels added a service ace.
SDSU twice trimmed the score to one, including a 24-23 margin following a block by Reeves and Gillcrist. However, Oleksak abruptly ended the Aztecs' comeback hopes with a kill on the next serve.
Runnels led all players with 15 kills, while Jackson finished with 10 put-aways of her own in the victory. In addition, CSU received nine kills from Nicholson, who hit .533 for the match, while Alexa Roumeliotis posted a match-high 17 digs.
UP NEXT
San Diego State continues its homestand on Tuesday, Nov. 12, when Fresno State invades The Mesa for another Mountain West showdown at 6 p.m. PT.
Volleyball Drops Three-Setter to No. 13 Colorado State
