SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team rebounded in big way Saturday with a four-set triumph over San José State (14-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-23) in a Mountain West match on Aztec Court at Peterson Gym.
With the victory, the Aztecs raise their record to 6-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play, while the Spartans slip to 9-6 on the season and 0-2 in MW action.
Despite trailing in kills (51-48), team blocks (12.0 to 11.0) and service aces (5-4), San Diego State benefited from 13 Spartan service errors to help ease the sting of Tuesday's disappointing five-set defeat at UNLV.
Neither side hit very well on Saturday, with SJSU maintaining a slight advantage in that statistical category (.194 to .180). After an opening set that saw the Scarlet and Black muster only eight kills against eight attack errors in 34 attempts, SDSU hit .242 the rest of the way to pull out the win.
After posting a .346 clip (13-4-26) in the first frame, however, the Spartans posted a .155 efficiency over the final three sets during which the Aztecs combined for 46 of their 54 digs on the afternoon to help short-circuit the SJSU attack.
SDSU boasted three players with double-digit dig totals, featuring Bailey Darnell's season-high 13 scoops, followed by McKenna Douglas (12) and Heipua Tautua'a (11).
Offensively, the Aztec attack was led by Taylor Underwood, who hit .321 for the match, blasting 13 kills on 28 attempts with four errors, while Mikela Labno reached double figures in that category as well with 10 put-aways of her own. Additionally, Madison Corf launched nine non-returnables, followed by Tautua'a, who floored seven shots, while Elly Schraeder came up huge at the net with four total blocks, tying her career-high with three solo stops.
Elsewhere, Fatimah Hall handed out 28 assists, splitting the setting chores with Sarena Gonzalez, who dished out 13 helpers in the victory.
SDSU stumbled out the gates in the opening set, with the visitors building a 15-7 advantage following a kill by Nayeli Ti'a. In a bit of foreshadowing, two errant SJSU serves allowed the Aztecs to narrow the gap to five, including a 17-12 spread. However, the Spartans closed with an 8-2 rush, led by Brooke Bryant, who launched a kill and joined forces with Jiana Lawson and Mari Lawton on pair of the blocks, the latter of which provided the clincher.
Corf collected five of the Aztecs' kills in the set, while SJSU countered with Letizia Cammillucci's four put-aways and another three by Ti'a.
The teams combined for 12 ties in the second stanza, but things looked ominous for SDSU after the Spartans forged a pair of five-point leads, including a 14-9 spread courtesy of a Bryant kill.
However, consecutive put-aways by Labno and Tautua'a, who also combined with Julia Haynie on an earlier block, helped fuel an 8-3 spurt to even the scoreboard. Lawton and Brooke Slusser followed with a joint rejection, while a wayward Aztec attack provided SJSU a slim 19-17 lead.
Unfazed, the Aztecs turned the tables with a 9-5 closing run to escape with the set. Schraeder fueled the blitz with a kill and two solo blocks, including one for the clinching point, while Underwood added two put-aways in that stretch, followed by Tautua'a, Corf and Labno with one apiece. SDSU additionally benefited from an errant Spartan serve to take a 24-23 lead.
Balance was the key for the Scarlet and Black in the second frame, with Underwood, Labno and Tautua'a each smashing four kills to offset five put-aways by Camillucci and four apiece by Bryant and Ti'a.
Buoyed by their good fortune, the Aztecs led throughout the third frame, gradually giving themselves some separation after Ti'a and Lawton combined on a block to trim the deficit to 7-5. However, SDSU kept the Spartans at bay, methodically increasing their advantage to eight points at 22-14 thanks to a joint block by Tautua'a and Schraeder.
The Aztecs logged their highest hitting percentage of the day in set three with a .385 efficiency, knocking down 14 kills on 26 swings with just four errors. Underwood stole the spotlight in the frame, launching five put-aways without an error on seven attempts (.714), while Labno contributed three kills and two solo blocks.
The stage was then set for a highly competitive four stanza where the teams combined for eight ties and five lead changes. However, the Spartans seemed poised to send the match to a decisive fifth set after a mishandled set gave the visitors an 18-14 advantage.
SDSU faced another round of adversity with aplomb, fashioning a quick 7-1 surge to take a 21-19 lead. Schraeder third solo block of the afternoon followed by a Hall service ace and an SJSU error capped the run, providing the host school a slim two-point edge.
The Spartans tallied two points on a Ti'a kill and a bad set to knot the score, but consecutive put-aways by Schraeder and Underwood put the Aztecs in front to stay at 23-21. Although the teams traded kills on the next four points, SDSU maintained the upper hand thanks to Underwood, who launched two non-returnables for the clinching points, as the Aztec bench erupted in jubilation along with the raucous crowd.
The Aztecs withstood Lawson's match-high eight blocks and Cammillucci's double-double, as the SJSU outside hitter led all players with 16 kills and added 11 digs. In addition, the Spartans received double-digit put-aways from Ti'a (13 kills) and Bryant (11 kills, 6 blocks), while Slusser (37 assists) and Alessia Buffagni (20 digs) recorded match-highs in their respective categories.
San Diego State will hit the road once again next week when it travels to the Front Range of the Rockies to battle Colorado State on Thursday, Sept. 28, before heading north to face Wyoming on Saturday, Sept. 30.
Aztecs Rally Past Spartans in Four Sets
