FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The sixth-seeded San Diego State volleyball program scored one of its most important victories in recent memory after outlasting No. 3 seed Colorado State in a five-set thriller (23-25, 25-19, 26-28, 25-20, 15-12) on Wednesday in the first round of the Mountain West Championship at Moby Arena.
With the win, the Aztecs (11-19) advance to the conference semifinals on Thursday afternoon when they'll square off against No. 2 seed San José State (20-8), starting at 4 p.m. MT/3 p.m. PT.
If SDSU defeats the Spartans, it will face the winner of the other semifinal match featuring top-seeded UNLV against No. 4 seed Utah State in the championship final on Friday at 6:30 p.m. MT/5:30 p.m. PT.
Against the Rams (19-11), the Aztecs received double-digit kills from four players, maintaining a 67-55 advantage in that statistic to help secure the seventh win in their last 10 outings.
Despite trailing in team blocks (11.0 to 10.0) and committing more attack errors (30-21), SDSU still managed to out-hit CSU .226 to .217 while owning a 67-54 spread in digs and a 9-3 edge in service aces to record their first win in Fort Collins since the 2013 campaign, a span of eight visits.
Madison Corf, who received all-Mountain West honorable mention earlier in the day, tied for match-high honors with 17 kills and completed her second career double-double after finishing with 13 digs, while Kayla Rivera and Elly Schraeder blasted 14 put-aways apiece, with the latter recording a personal best in that category.
Not to be outdone, Heipua Tautua'a logged her team-leading seven double-double of the season after compiling 10 kills and a career-high 23 digs to go with two aces and a pair of solo blocks.
At the net, Schraeder and Rivera paced the Scarlet and Black with five blocks each, including one solo stop, with the latter serving up three aces along with Julia Haynie, who also registered seven kills. Meanwhile, Ellie Geoghegan contributed to the Aztecs' back row efforts with 16 digs.
In addition, Noa Miller set a career high with 35 assists, while Sarena Gonzalez dished out 20 helpers off the bench.
Despite the plethora of superlatives, SDSU needed to overcome a 2-1 deficit in sets for the first time the season after posting an 0-10 record in that situation throughout the season.
It was the Aztecs who seemed poised to grab a 2-1 lead on the set scoreboard after the visitors nursed a 23-20 advantage following a Corf kill late in the third frame. However, the Rams caught lightning in a bottle as Annie Sullivan launched a kill, while Karina Leber followed with consecutive put-aways of her own to quickly knot the score.
SDSU still had two chances after twice reaching set point at 24-23 and 26-25 thanks to a pair of clutch kills by Haynie. The Aztecs were unable to capitalize their good fortune, though, as CSU reeled off three straight points to escape 28-26 courtesy of two Kennedy Stanford non-returnables sandwiched around an SDSU attack error.
Unfazed, the Aztecs went back to work in the fourth set where they posted their best hitting percentage of the day at .370 after launching 14 kills on 27 attempts with just four errors. SDSU displayed a balanced attack as five players powered down at least two shots in the frame, including four by Tautua'a and three by Corf.
The teams combined for five ties and three lead changes, with the Scarlet and Black vaulting in front for good at 15-13 following kills by Schraeder and Corf sandwiched around a Tautua'a ace.
The Rams, who found themselves in pursuit mode for the remainder of the set, trimmed the deficit to 21-19 after a Leber put-away and an errant SDSU attack. However, the Aztecs would maintain the upper hand down the stretch, as Tautua'a came through with two late kills, while Haynie served up an ace to keep the hosts at bay.
With the contest knotted at two sets apiece, the decisive fifth frame was no less dramatic, as the sides combined for an additional four ties and four lead changes. This time Schraeder took center stage with four kills and a block assist, while Rivera smashed two put-aways in the set.
SDSU was seemingly in cruise control after racing to a 5-1 lead, highlighted by a Tautua'a solo block along with kills by Rivera, Schraeder and Corf. However, CSU fashioned a 10-5 blitz, nosing in front on a Malaya Jones kill followed by a wayward Aztec attack.
Undaunted, the Scarlet and Black met the moment, as Schraeder took matters into her own hands with three late kills and a joint block with Rivera, while Tautua'a added another solo rejection during a strong 5-2 closing run, which thrust the Aztecs into Thursday's semifinals.
Annie Sullivan (.326) led the Rams with 17 kills, while Stanford added 13 put-aways in the loss. In addition, CSU received match highs from Leber (nine blocks) and Ciera Pritchard (36 assists).
SDSU nearly withstood a Ram barrage in the opening set, as the host school posted a .387 hitting percentage, blasting 13 kills on 31 attempts against just one error. The Aztecs countered with 14 non-returnables of their own; however, eight errant attacks along with two off-target serves would be their undoing.
Still, SDSU led throughout most of the first stanza, including a slim 20-18 margin after a Haynie service ace. CSU quickly turned the tables, though, uncorking a 7-3 closing run to steal the set. The Aztecs shot themselves in the proverbial foot with two attack errors, while two Sullivan kills and another by Stanford offset two put-aways by Schraeder and Rivera.
The Aztec defense clamped down in the second frame, limiting the Rams to just eight kills against five errors in 25 swings for a paltry .120 efficiency. On the flip side, SDSU posted a .370 hitting percentage in that span, blasting 15 kills in 28 attempts with five miscues. Rivera hit .750 in the set, launching six non-returnables on eight attempts without an error, while Tautua'a came through with three kills of her own.
CSU remained in contention after an off-target serve by the Aztecs allowed the hosts to pull within 19-17. However, consecutive kills by Schraeder and Tautua'a followed by a bad set extinguished any comeback hopes for the Rams. Fittingly, Schraeder and Rivera accounted for SDSU's final three points, as each knocked down a kill and then combined on a block for the clincher.
Thursday's semifinal marks the third meeting between San Diego State and San José State this season after each team won on the other's home floor. The Aztecs defeated the Spartans in four sets (25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 26-24) on Nov. 19 in San Jose to clinch the final spot in the MW Championship. SDSU leads the all-time varsity series 23-16 dating back to 1977.
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