Aztecs Toppled by Washington in Three Sets

SEATTLE – After an inauspicious start, the San Diego State volleyball team flashed its resiliency against a game Washington squad at the Husky Invitational on Saturday but ultimately dropped a three-set decision (17-25, 24-26, 20-25) in the second match of the year for both teams at Alaska Airlines Arena.

With the loss, the Aztecs slip to 1-1 on the young season, while UW remains unbeaten at 2-0.

The Huskies maintained the statistical advantage in most categories, including hitting percentage (.298 to .095), kills (46-29), digs (43-37) and team blocks (13.0 to 5.0) to keep the Scarlet and Black at bay.

Individually, SDSU was led by Ella Schabort’s seven kills, while Layla Austin and Mila Gehlen total six put-aways, followed by Taelyn Bentley’s five put-aways.

In addition, the Aztecs received 24 assists from setter Kendall Mairs, while Zara Stewart (9 digs) and Tessa Schouten (3 block assists) paced the defense.

On the flips side, SDSU was unable to contain Washington’s three-pronged attack of Kylie Kleckner (11), Simone Mateska (11) and Julia Hunt (10), who combined for 32 of the Huskies’ 46 kills. Not to be outdone, Maia Howse launched eight non-returnables of her own and tied Hunt for match-high honors with seven block assists.

Elsewhere, Kaitlyn Nguyen led all players with 17 digs, while Anderea Fabikovicova completed a double-double with a match-high 33 assists and 10 scoops of her own.

The Aztecs stumbled out of the gates in the opening set, as UW raced to an 11-1 lead. Howse sparked the big run with three kills and joined forces with Katy Wessels on a block, while the Scarlet and Black was victimized by a ball-handling error, an unforced attack error and a Mateska service ace.

SDSU tried to rally, trimming the deficit to seven at 24-17 following a Rylie Sengdara service ace and two late kills by Bentley. However, the deficit proved too much to overcome, as Mateska floored a shot on the ensuing serve to provide the clinching point.

The second stanza witnessed a tight battle, as the teams combined for 10 ties and four lead changes.

Although the Huskies held a sizeable 18-10 advantage in kills during the set, the Aztecs committed three fewer attack errors (5-8) and served up a trio of aces, while Schouten joined forces with Gehlen and Austin  to help keep the score close.

Trailing 16-15, SDSU crafted a 7-3 run to build a late 22-19 lead. Gehlen’s two kills and combined block with Schouten highlighted the surge, while Schabort served up an ace. In addition, the Aztecs benefited from three Husky attack errors.

However, UW caught proverbial lightning in a bottle with a quick 7-2 outburst of its own to escape with the set. Two put-aways by Schouten kept SDSU’s hopes alive, including a kill that knotted the score at 24-24. But SDSU was unable to regain the upper hand, as Kleckner and Hunt floored consecutive shots to give the host school a commanding 2-0 lead on the set scoreboard.

After a tight battle, both teams were plagued by inconsistency to start the third set, exchanging service errors and wayward attacks. Following four early ties, the Huskies went ahead to stay at 11-8 thanks to consecutive kills by Wessels and Howse, as well as Mateska’s service ace. UW eventually built a pair of seven-point leads, including a 23-16 spread following another Howse put-away.

The Aztecs narrowed the gap to 24-20 on a Gehlen kill and a combined block by Austin and Chelsea Cocks, but the Huskies extinguished SDSU’s faint comeback hopes after Hunt launched a non-returnable to seal the match.

San Diego State wraps up competition at the Husky Invitational on Sunday, Aug. 30, when it faces UC Irvine at noon PT. The Anteaters (0-2) dropped a three-set match of their own to IU Indy on Saturday afternoon.