Austin's Big Day Propels Aztecs to Sweep of UC Irvine at Husky Invitational

SEATTLE – San Diego State’s Layla Austin blasted a season-high 18 kills on Sunday to lead the Aztecs to a 3-0 sweep over UC Irvine (25-17, 25-22, 25-22) in their final match of the season-opening Husky Invitational at Alaska Airlines Arena.

With the victory, SDSU completes its weekend road trip with a 2-1 record, while the Anteaters finish the tournament winless at 0-3.

Austin committed just one error in 29 attempts for a scintillating .586 hitting percentage, while Ella Schabort collected nine kills of her own, followed by Annabelle De Jager and Taelyn Bentley, who totaled six put-aways apiece.

In addition, the Aztecs received a match-high 12 digs from Zara Stewart, while Bentley also contributed to SDSU’s defensive fortunes with a season-high five block assists.

Not to be outdone, setter Kendall Mairs registered her second double of the year after handing out a match-high 30 assists to go with 11digs.

Collectively, the Aztecs owned the statistical advantage in most categories, including kills (46-32), digs and team blocks (6.0 to 3.0) to help fuel their win. In addition, the Scarlet and Black posted its best hitting percentage of the campaign with a .340 efficiency, while limiting UCI to an opponent season-low .108 clip.

SDSU found itself facing a 7-5 deficit in the opening frame before vaulting in front for good with five straight points, thanks to four consecutive Austin kills and another by Schabort. The Anteaters were unable to draw closer than four points the rest of the way, as Bentley floored a shot and Austin served up an ace for the final two tallies, securing the set for the Scarlet and Black.

The Aztecs hit at a blistering .500 pace in the frame, their highest for the match, with Austin providing nine of the team’s 18 kills, while Stewart and Mairs contributed three digs apiece.

The second stanza witnessed a tighter affair, but SDSU still led for most of the set after breaking a 3-3 deadlock, courtesy of a Schabort kill and service ace sandwiched around a UCI attack error.

After a Stewart service ace gave the Aztecs their largest lead of the frame at 16-10, the Anteaters cut the deficit to two on three occasions, including a 20-18 spread after an Abby Pekrul kill. However, Austin launched a non-returnable and combined with Bentley on a block to help keep UCI at bay. The Anteaters crept back into contention at 24-22 following consecutive attack errors. However, Bentley responded with a kill after a timeout for the clinching point that gave SDSU a commanding 2-0 lead on the set scoreboard.

Austin maintained her blistering pace in the frame with six kills in seven attempts without an error for an .857 clip, while Schabort added three put-aways of her own and Bentley assisted on a trio of blocks.

The teams battled through four ties and one lead change early in the third set before the Scarlet and Black took the lead for good at 11-8 following kills by Tessa Schouten and Austin sandwiched around consecutive UCI attack errors.

The Aztecs built a series of four-point advantages, including a 22-18 spread after a Schabort kill. The Anteaters kept battling to extend the match, trimming the deficit to 23-22 on the heels of a Tatawan Vongfak service ace and an errant SDSU attack. However, the Aztecs responded favorably to another timeout, as Schouten and De Jager floored consecutive shots to secure their first sweep of the year.

De Jager recorded five of her six kills in that third set, while Stewart contributed seven digs to help limit UCI to a .098 clip in that span.

Taylor Boice and Madison Triplett paced the Anteaters with seven kills apiece for the match, while Isabella Romero, Memphis Burnett and Jessica Bates finished with four each in the loss.

San Diego State continues its road swing next week when it heads to northern California for a pair of matches against UC Davis and Cal Poly on consecutive days, Sept. 3-4, at University Credit Union Center in Davis, California.