LA JOLLA, Calif. – The San Diego State volleyball team registered a much-needed victory on Thursday night with a 3-0 whitewash of host UCSD (25-19, 25-22, 25-21) in its opening match of the UC San Diego Invitational at LionTree Arena.
After suffering four sweeps in a five-match losing streak, the Aztecs (2-5) turned the tables against the Tritons, hitting at a season-high .311 efficiency and maintaining a sizable 50-31 advantage in kills. Despite trailing in team blocks (6.0 to 5.0), the Scarlet and Black also owned the statistical edge in digs (31-28) and served up three aces to help fuel the victory.
In addition, SDSU limited the Tritons (4-3) to their second-lowest attack percentage of the year with a .165 clip, improving to 15-0 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1977.
Individually, the Aztecs received season-high kills totals from four players, including Madison Corf, who led all players with 14 put-aways to go with a .565 hitting percentage, committing just one error in 23 attempts, while Heipua Tautua'a (.333) launched 13 non-returnables of her own.
Mikela Labno (8 kills) and Julia Haynie (7 kills) also got into the act offensively, while Elly Schraeder set a match-high with four block assists.
Elsewhere, Sarena Gonzalez dished out a season-high 25 assists to lead all players, sharing the setter duties with Fatimah Hall (18 assists), while McKenna Douglas provided back row support with a match-high 11 digs.
SDSU raced to a 6-1 lead in the opening set, as Tautua'a served up an ace after Haynie blasted two kills to give the visitors some early momentum. However, UCSD fought back to knot the score on four occasions, including a 17-17 deadlock following a Lauren Brooker kill.
Unfazed, the Aztecs responded with an impressive 8-2 closing run to keep the host school at bay. Labno took matters into her own hands with three kills on four serves to ignite the outburst, while Corf floored two late shots, including the clinching point.
In all, SDSU posted its highest hitting percentage of the night with a .355 efficiency in the set, smashing 16 kills on 31 swings with five errors.
Save for a 1-0 deficit and a 2-2 tie, the Aztecs led throughout the second stanza, building a pair of six-point advantages, including a 17-11 spread after a Schraeder kill. However, the Tritons would not go quietly, whittling the deficit to two points on several occasions, including a 24-22 margin following a Reagan McWhinney non-returnable. But SDSU withstood the challenge, as Labno powered down a kill to give the Scarlet and Black a commanding 2-0 lead in sets.
The balanced Aztec offense was clicking on all cylinders, combining for 20 kills on 43 attempts with just five miscues for another sparkling .349 hitting percentage. Tautua'a knocked down five kills for the frame, followed closely by Corf and Taylor Underwood, who supplied four apiece.
The Aztecs seemed poised to pull away in the third set after forging a 12-8 lead following a Corf kill to cap a 5-0 run. However, UCSD answered with an 8-1 surge to regain the upper hand at 16-13, punctuated by Emily McDaniel's solo block.
Subsequently, it was SDSU's turn to seize the momentum, as the visitors uncorked a timely 7-1 blitz to reclaim the lead for good. Corf blasted two kills in that span and teamed with Schraeder on a block, which provided the Aztecs a 20-17 advantage.
SDSU survived some anxious moments down the stretch after the Tritons trimmed the margin to 22-21 after an errant Aztec serve and a wayward attack. However, the Scarlet and Black quickly righted the ship with consecutive kills by Labno and Tautua'a, who combined with Haynie on a block to secure match point.
Although the Aztecs hit .219 in the set with 14 kills against eight errors on 32 attempts, UCSD fared worse, mustering just eight put-aways as a team and finishing with a .038 efficiency thanks to seven miscues on 26 swings.
McDaniel (11) was the lone Triton player to record double-digit kills, while Brooker and McWhinney totaled five apiece in the loss.
San Diego State continues its weekend tournament appearance in La Jolla on Friday when it battles Denver, starting at 4 p.m. PT.
Aztecs End Slide with Sweep at UCSD
