LA JOLLA, Calif. – The San Diego State volleyball team posted its second straight sweep on Friday with a 3-0 blanking of Denver (25-19, 25-17, 25-22) at the UC San Diego Invitational inside LionTree Arena.
Despite trailing in digs (55-50) and team blocks (9.0 to 2.0), the Aztecs maintained a robust 44-26 advantage in kills and a 10-4 edge in service aces to help raise their record to 3-5 on the young season.
In addition, SDSU improves to 3-2 in the all-time series after limiting the Pioneers (0-5) to a .173 hitting percentage for the match, including a .067 clip in the first two sets combined.
Individually, the Aztecs featured a balanced offensive attack, as five players finished with at least five kills, including Julia Haynie, who hit .438 on the day and tied teammate Taylor Underwood for match-high honors with nine put-aways.
In addition, Mikela Labno (.500) launched eight non-returnables of her own, followed by Madison Corf (7 kills, 2 block assists) and Kat Cooper (5 kills, 2 block assists).
The SDSU cause was also buoyed by Sarena Gonzalez's season-best 28 assists, which led all players, while McKenna Douglas reached double-figures in digs once again with a match-high 10 scoops.
Not to be outdone, Underwood served up a career-high five aces, while Gonzalez and Heipua Tautua'a added two apiece.
The opening set featured a defensive struggle, with the Aztecs knocking down just 11 kills on 32 attempts with eight errors for a paltry .094 efficiency. However, the Pioneers fared even worse, totaling just five put-aways against six miscues on 23 swings for a minus-.043 hitting percentage.
The teams battled through five ties and three lead changes, as SDSU rode the serving of Underwood, who racked up four aces in the frame, including three to highlight a strong 6-0 closing run after the score was knotted at 19-19. In addition, Cooper amassed four kills, flooring a late shot to put the Aztecs at set point.
SDSU led throughout the second stanza, as Corf and Underwood supplied the firepower with four kills apiece. Collectively, the Aztecs trimmed their mistakes, committing six errors against 14 kills in 25 attempts for a .320 attack percentage during the set.
The Scarlet and Black forged a pair of seven-point leads, including a 19-12 spread following a Labno kill. Moments later, Denver twice pulled to within four, trimming the margin to 21-17 after an errant Aztec attack. However, SDSU reeled off four straight points on put-aways by Underwood and Haynie, sandwiched around consecutive Tautua'a service aces, to quash the Pioneers' comeback hopes.
Set three was a more wide-open affair, as the Aztecs smashed 19 kills on 39 swings with five miscues for a match-high .359 efficiency. Underwood, Haynie and Labno shared the wealth with four put-aways each, while Corf floored three shots in the frame. Conversely, Denver hit at a .333 clip, posting an aggregate 13 kills against three errors in 30 attempts.
After the scoreboard witnessed five ties, the SDSU reeled off four straight points to break an 11-11 deadlock. Consecutive Underwood kills coupled with another by Haynie, and a Pioneer ball-handling error gave the Scarlet and Black a 15-11 lead it would not relinquish.
The Aztecs increased their advantage to six points on three occasions, including a 23-17 spread following a Tautua'a kill. Denver would not go quietly, as a combined block by Cassie Davis and Cadi Boyer punctuated a 5-1 spurt to narrow the gap to 24-22. However, the Pioneers faint comeback hopes quickly vanished on the next serve thanks to a wayward serve.
Denver was paced by Davis' eight kills, while Molly Mirabelli led all players with five blocks, including a pair of solo stops. In addition, Mackenzie Fidelak (.333) totaled six put-aways in the loss, while Boyer came up with five non-returnables and four total blocks, including a solo stuff.
San Diego State closes out its weekend of competition at the UCSD Invite on Saturday when it battles Navy at noon PT.
Aztecs Race Past Denver in Three Sets
