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Aztecs fall to No. 23 Michigan State, rebound with sweep of TAMU-CC
Source: goaztecs.com
Photo courtesy goaztecs.com
September 1, 2017 (East Lansing, Mich.) - The San Diego State volleyball team employed a balanced offense and timely runs to defeat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in three sets (25-19, 25-18, 25-18) Friday in the second match of the Spartan Invitational at Jenison Fieldhouse. With the victory, the Aztecs overcame a 3-0 sweep (17-25, 14-25, 17-25) earlier in the day at the hands of No. 23 Michigan State, improving to 2-3 on the season.
Against TAMU-CC (1-3), SDSU posted a season-high .344 hitting percentage and eight service aces despite a 7.0-3.0 deficiency in total blocks. Five Aztecs finished with six or more kills, including Deja Harris (.643) and Baylee Little (.529), who blasted 10 put-aways each, while Hannah Turnlund contributed seven for the match.
The SDSU attack also featured Alexis Cage (7 kills, .600) and Ashlynn Dunbar (6 kills, .455), while Devyn Pritchard anchored the back row with a season-high 16 digs to go with two aces. In addition, both Aztec setters saw significant action, with Indigo Thompson handing out 23 assists, while Gabi Peoples finished with 15 helpers of her own.
Conversely, SDSU limited the Islanders to a .205 hitting percentage while maintaining a 39-31 advantage in digs.
Save for a 1-1 tie, the Aztecs never trailed in set number one, building a 7-2 bulge following consecutive aces by Pritchard. Corpus Christi responded with four consecutive points, but the Scarlet and Black maintained the upper hand by fashioning a 4-0 spurt of its own, capped by an Islander attack error.
Shortly thereafter, TAMU-CC trimmed the margin to 14-12 thanks to a kill by Kristyn Nicholson. However, SDSU stood firm, engineering a 9-3 run to take a commanding 23-15 lead. Turnlund and Alexandra Psoma knocked down two kills apiece during that stretch, while Peoples served up an ace. Moments later, the Aztecs secured the frame when Peoples fed Little for the clinching kill.
The second stanza was a closely contested affair that witnessed five ties and two lead changes. SDSU found itself on the wrong side of a 14-11 score after a combined block by Brittany Gilpin and Rachel Young followed by an errant Aztec attack.
Unfazed, SDSU quickly turned the tables, uncorking a decisive 14-4 run to close out the set. Dunbar put the Aztecs up for good at 17-16 with a kill and promptly joined forces with Harris on a block. Psoma soon followed with a pair of kills, while Little came through once again with consecutive put-aways for the final two points.
The Aztecs held the Islanders to a .094 hitting percentage in the middle set, allowing just eight kills on 15 attempts with five errors.
The third frame witnessed four ties early on including a 5-5 deadlock, before Dunbar put SDSU ahead to stay with a kill, while TAMU-CC’s Morgan Williams followed with a wayward swing. The Islanders claimed the next point to pull within one, but the Aztecs came through with another timely run, unleashing a 12-3 flurry to grab an insurmountable 19-8 advantage. Little launched four kills during that span, while Turnlund chipped in two.
The Islanders pulled to within 21-16 on a Madison Green kill, but two kills by Harris down the stretch helped snuff out the rally.
SDSU hit .467 for the set, notching 18 kills on 30 swings with just four errors.
Earlier in the day, San Diego State had its hands full against a Michigan State squad that outhit the Aztecs .347-.099 and maintained a 10.0-4.0 advantage in total blocks.
Individually, SDSU received a team-high nine kills from Psoma, while Turnlund recorded eight put-aways of her own. In addition, Pritchard led all players with 12 digs, while Thompson dished out 20 assists.
The Aztecs forged a 4-2 lead in the opening set thanks to a Psoma kill and a Harris service ace. However, the Spartans responded with a 9-0 surge to seize control of the frame at 11-4. Rachel Minarick and Megan Tompkins sparked the run with two kills each, while Brooke Kranda added an ace.
MSU (3-1) eventually increased its advantage to 20-10 after Kranda and Alyssa Garvelink combined on a block. SDSU countered with a 7-4 spurt, capped by Turnlund’s joint block with Little, which narrowed the gap to 24-17. However, the Scarlet and Black’s faint comeback hopes were quickly extinguished on the ensuing point when Holly Toliver registered the clinching kill for the Spartans.
The Aztecs kept things close early in the second stanza as a Turnland kill drew the visitors even at 4-4. However, the Spartans unleashed a 19-5 blitz to break the score open. Toliver keyed the outburst with four kills, while Garvelink added two and assisted on a block. SDSU received a pair of kills by Psoma and Turnlund down the stretch, but the deficit proved too much to overcome.
The Aztecs were unable to generate any momentum in the third set, falling behind 13-2. SDSU twice cut the margin to six, including a 16-10 spread following a Spartan block error, but could draw no closer the rest of the way.
MSU was paced by Kranda’s match-high 10 kills, while Toliver and Autumn Bailey contributed eight apiece. Garvelink, who also hit .500 for the match seven kills, led all players with five block assists, while Minarick (five kills, .833) handed out 26 assists.
San Diego State wraps up the Spartan Invitational on Saturday when it faces Marshall, starting at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. ET.
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