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Volleyball falls to UCI in five sets
Source: goaztecs.com press release
Photo: Deja Harris via goaztecs.com
September 7, 2016 (San Diego) - Trailing two sets to one, San Diego state saw a spirited comeback effort fall just shy of the mark as it dropped a five-set (25-23, 29-31, 14-25, 27-25, 12-15) decision to UC Irvine Wednesday evening on Aztec Court. The result left both side with identical 3-4 records after the first seven matches of the season.
Four Aztecs ended the night in double figures in kills led by sophomore middle blocker Deja Harris with 17. She finished the contest with a .583 hitting percentage over the five sets and also contributed three blocks, three digs and a service ace.
Freshman Tamia Reeves (.407 hitting percentage) and senior Alexis Cage (two blocks, eight digs) had 13 kills apiece while Danielle Bolden added 12 along with six digs and a block.
Libero Devyn Pritchard recorded a season-high 22 digs while setter Lauren Utchen and Hailey Jones finished with 33 and 29 assists respectively.
For most of the match, the Aztecs were unable to find an answer for UC Irvine’s Victoria Dennis. The 6-3 outside hitter notched 31 kills and a .520 hitting percentage as she accounted for the most of her team’s 70 kills in the night. Her play helped the Anteaters hit .374 for the match while SDSU finished with a .246 attack mark.
San Diego State got off to a good start in the opening set as it ran out to a quick 10-5 lead. UC Irvine slowly worked its way back into the game to climbed back to within a point at 14-13, The Aztecs held a one- or two-point lead from there, but were unable to extend their advantage and the Anteaters eventually knotted the score at 22-22.
After the teams traded points, SDSU got a kill from Reeves and a bad set by UCI to claim the two-point set win. Reeves led the Aztecs with six kills and a .857 hitting percentage while Dennis carried the Anteaters as she had nine of her team’s 12 kills in the set.
The second set was another tight affair which San Diego State led early until UCI grabbed the lead at 13-12. The Anteaters built on that lead and held 24-20 advantage with four chances at set point. The Aztecs, however, had other ideas as they reeled off four straight points to tie the score at 24-24. Those four came on an Anteater service, a kill by Cage and two by Bolden.
Over the next few minutes UC Irvine had four chances at match point while the Aztec had one opportunity, but neither side could convert. With the score at 29-29, however, the visitors got a kill from Dennis and an SDSU attack error to claim the victory and even the match at one set apiece.
After the break. UC Irvine came out like a different team as it dominated the third set from start to finish. The Anteaters hit .522 in the contest and had six team blocks as they held SDSU to just eight kills and a .000 attack mark. No Aztec had more than two kills in the set as UCI jumped out to a 12-4 lead and never looked back.
Order was restored in the fourth set as another tight contest ensued in which neither team was able to forge more than a small lead. Although San Diego State trailed for much of the second half of the contest, it managed to tie the score at 20-20 after which the teams alternated winning three points apiece to make it 23-23.
From there the Anteaters had two chances to put the match away, but kills by Cage and Hannah Turnlund kept the Aztecs alive. With the set tied at 25-all, a kill by Ashlyn Dunbar and a UCI attack error gave SDSU the two-point win and sent the match to a fifth set.
In that fifth and deciding set, SDSU took a 3-2 lead only to see UCI run off seven straight points to seemingly take control of the contest. The Aztecs, however, fought back to within one at 11-10, but two consecutive Anteater kills proved to be too much as the teams alternated scoring the final four points of the set with the visitors claiming the thee-point win.
The Aztecs will now travel back east to play in the Art Carmichael Invitational hosted by the University of Rhode Island. SDSU will open their tourney play against the host Rams on Friday, Sept. 9, at 7:00 p.m. (ET). Other tourney participant include Notre Dame and Stony Brook, both of whom the Aztecs will face on Saturday.
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