SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team closed off its home tournament in style with a pair of 3-1 victories on Saturday, defeating Army West Point (25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19) and UC San Diego (25-22, 25-20, 26-28, 25-20) at the SDSU Invitational on Aztec Court at Peterson Gym.
In the nightcap against the Tritons, San Diego State (2-1) owned a decisive 67-42 advantage in kills and served up seven aces to help fuel its win, overcoming a 14.0 to 9.0 deficiency in team blocks.
The Scarlet and Black outhit UCSD .270 to .183 and maintained a sizeable 51-42 in digs while benefiting from 20 opponent attack errors.
Individually, four players posted double-digit kills for the Scarlet and Black, including freshman Madison Corf (.303), who blasted a match-high 14 put-aways, while Heipua Tautua'a logged her first double-double of the year with 14 non-returnables to go with 10 digs.
In addition, the Aztecs received 13 kills from Mikela Labno, while Kayla Rivera sparked the offense with 10 put-aways, followed by Kat Cooper, who hit .600 for the night while finishing with seven kills and five total blocks, including a solo stop.
Not to be outdone, Noa Miller (28 assists) posted a career-high six service aces sharing the setting duties with Sarena Gonzalez, who dished out 30 helpers of her own. Meanwhile, McKenna Douglas led all players with 19 digs to anchor the SDSU back row.
The Aztecs grabbed an early 11-6 lead in the opening frame on a combined block by Labno and Elly Schraeder, which punctuated a timely 8-3 run. UCSD twice narrowed the gap to one, including an 18-17 spread, thanks to a pair of errant SDSU sets and a wayward attack.
However, the Aztecs withstood the Triton challenge, closing with a 7-5 run to keep the visitors at bay. Schraeder posted two kills down the stretch, including the clincher, while Rivera and Cooper each floored a shot as well.
SDSU seized the momentum in the second stanza with 10-2 run after UCSD opened with three straight points. Corf and Labno knocked down two kills apiece in that span, with the latter joining forces with Schraeder on a block, while Miller displayed her magic with an ace.
Trailing 16-11, the Tritons crept back into contention with four consecutive points, including an Ava McInness kill and a solo block by Shara Da Silva, before the Aztecs committed back-to-back attack errors. However, UCSD was unable to grab the upper hand, as the host school flashed its finishing kick with a 9-5 run to put the second set on ice.
In that, one play that typified SDSU's good fortune on the night was an attack that ricocheted off back over the net from a Douglas dig and somehow found the floor between Triton defenders.
The third set was the closest of the match, as the two sides combined for 15 ties and three lead changes. The Aztecs were looking up at a 19-16 deficit but quickly caught fire with an 8-4 blitz to put themselves on the cusp of a sweep at 24-22. SDSU had four different chances to close out the match, including a 26-25 spread following a Tautua'a kill, but UCSD had other ideas.
McInnes blasted a kill and served up an ace to keep the Tritons alive, while Da Silva and Jasmine Saran combined on a block.
The teams witnessed eight ties and four lead changes in the fourth set until SDSU reeled off four straight points to erase an 11-10 deficit and vault in front for good. Rivera and Corf each recorded a kill in that stretch, sandwiched around a Miller service ace, while UCSD committed an attack error.
The Tritons twice trimmed the margin to one, including a 20-19 tally after an Aztec attack error. However, kills by Corf, Labno and Tautua'a, who provided the clincher, dashed the UCSD comeback hopes.
McInnes paced the Tritons with 14 kills, while Da Silva came up huge defensively with nine total blocks.
Earlier in the day vs. Army West Point, Tautua'a (13 kills) and Labno (12 kills) provided the offensive punch, while Miller contributed her first double-double of the year with 21 assists and 12 digs.
However, the Aztecs enjoyed a block party against the Black Knights, finishing with a 14.0 to 10.0 advantage at the net, to go with a 54-49 edge in digs.
In addition to a career-high nine blocks, Schraeder (.375) displayed her dual-threat capabilities with eight kills against only two errors, while Rivera finished with seven stuffs of her own.
The opening frame was the closest of the four as the two teams combined for 11 ties and three lead changes. Despite a slim 13-12 edge in kills during the set, SDSU was the beneficiary of nine Army attack errors. Reagan Merk launched a kill to ignite a 4-1 outburst that broke a 13-13 and put the hosts in front for good.
The Black Knights twice whittled the deficit to one, including a 23-22 spread after a Mackenzie Karnig kill and a wayward Aztec pass. However, the rally was snuffed out as Labno floored a shot, while Cooper followed with an ace.
In the second stanza, SDSU stumbled out of the gates, as Army raced to an 8-3 advantage and was never headed. The Aztecs forged a pair of ties, including an 11-11 deadlock following an errant Black Knight serve. However, SDSU quickly found itself in pursuit mode after the visitors uncorked a 7-1 blitz to take the lead for good.
The Aztecs posted their lowest hitting percentage of the match in that set, committing nine errors against eight kills on 35 swings for a minus-.029 efficiency.
However, the Scarlet and Black turned the tables over the next two frames, combining for 10 errors in that span while knocking down 23 kills, including 13 in the final set.
Conversely, Army was limited to 15 kills over the final two sets while committing 17 errors for a minus-.033 hitting percentage.
SDSU led the rest of the afternoon, seizing the momentum with a 5-0 statement to open the third stanza.
Kai Nickerson was the lone Black Knights player to record double-digit kills, finishing with 10 put-aways, while Diana Ethridge (28 assists) and Sayler Butters (18 digs) totaled match highs in their respective categories.
San Diego State continues its non-conference schedule next weekend, traveling up the coast to compete at the Pepperdine ASICS Classic in Malibu, California. The Aztecs will open the tournament on Friday, Sept. 2, when they take on Baylor, starting at 4 p.m. PT, before wrapping up the event on Saturday, Sept. 3, with a pair of matches against host Pepperdine (noon PT) and UC Santa Barbara (7 p.m. PT).
Aztecs Win Twice at Home Tourney on Saturday
