SDSU VOLLEYBALL DOWNED BY UNLV ON SENIOR NIGHT

The Aztecs’ Kayla Rivera and Madison Corf launch seven kills apiece

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

November 10, 2022 (San Diego) - The San Diego State volleyball team wrapped up the home portion of its 2022 schedule on a sour note Thursday, falling to conference leader UNLV in three sets (19-25, 12-25, 23-25) inside Aztec Court at Peterson Gym.

With the loss, the Aztecs (8-19, 6-10 MW) slip into ninth place in the Mountain West standings, one-half match behind New Mexico, Wyoming and Boise State, all of which are tied for sixth with a 6-9 league record, as the top six teams qualify for the conference tournament later this month.

SDSU is idle on Saturday, while the Lobos square off against the Cowgirls in Laramie, Wyoming, and the Broncos play host to San José State in Boise, Idaho.

The Aztecs were plagued by 20 attack errors and eight misguided serves on Thursday against the Rebels (23-3, 14-1 MW), who maintained the statistical advantage in kills (38-31) hitting percentage (.318 to .112) and service aces (7-3) to help complete the season sweep and secure their 14th consecutive victory.

Individually, SDSU was led by Kayla Rivera and Madison Corf, who posted seven kills, while Elly Schraeder and Heipua Tautua’a launched six non-returnables apiece. Schraeder hit .600 on 10 attempts without an error to go with a match-high five blocks, including a solo stop.

In addition, the Aztecs received 15 assists from Noa Miller, while Ellie Geoghegan anchored the back row with a match-high 11 digs.

The two sides battled through six early ties in the opening set before the Rebels took the lead for good with four straight points to break a 6-6 deadlock.

Trailing by four on two other occasions, including a 17-13 spread, SDSU trimmed the margin to one after a Corf put-away, a Julia Haynie service ace and a combined block by Schraeder and Kat Cooper.

However, the Aztecs were unable to seize the upper hand, committing four attack errors down the stretch, one of which was the result of a joint block by Jordyn Freeman and Chloe Thomas, while Maya Sands served up consecutive aces to highlight an 8-3 closing run for the visitors.

SDSU stumbled through a rough second stanza, totaling just seven kills against eight errant attacks for a minus-.037 hitting percentage.

Still, the Aztecs remained in contention, facing a slim 6-5 deficit following a Cooper kill. However, the Scarlet and Black could not keep pace, as the Rebels received five kills from Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos and two more from Isabel Martin to seize complete control of the set. In addition, Martin contributed three block assists during the frame, joining forces with Ellease Crumpton, Freeman and Dakota Quinlan, respectively.

After allowing the Rebels a .667 hitting percentage, the SDSU defense limited the visitors to a .139 efficiency in the third set while maintaining a slight edge in kills (13-12), as the hosts fought to extend the match.

Corf led the Aztecs with four kills in the frame, while Rivera chipped in three put-aways.

The prospects looked good for SDSU, which raced to a 5-0 lead, thanks in part to Schraeder’s solo block and combined stop with Rivera, while Tautau’a blasted a kill followed by a Miller service ace.

UNLV methodically fought itself of the proverbial ropes, grabbing a slim 13-12 lead on consecutive put-aways by Arretche-Ramos. Shortly thereafter, the Aztecs seemingly took control with an 8-1 blitz to build a 20-14 advantage. Schraeder continued her dominance at the net with a pair of joint blocks with Corf and Rivera, who also powered down three kills in that span.

Fate dealt the Scarlet and Black a cruel twist, however, as the Rebels caught lightning in a bottle with a timely 11-3 closing run to escape with the sweep. The Aztecs didn’t do themselves any favors down the stretch, launching two wayward serves while getting charged with a double-hit ball.

Conversely, UNLV received three late kills by Arretche-Ramos following back-to-back non-returnables by Martin to fuel their comeback.

Arretche-Ramos led the all players with 12 kills, while Thomas and Martin (4 block assists) finished with nine put-aways each.

Prior to Thursday’s contest, the Aztecs held a special Senior Night ceremony, celebrating the accomplishments of Kennedy Feuerborn, Noa Miller and Kayla Rivera.

After an open date on Saturday, San Diego State wraps up its regular-season schedule with a pair of road matches next week, traveling to the Silver State to battle Nevada on Thursday, Nov. 17 before heading over to the Bay Area to face San José State on Saturday, Nov. 19.

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