MATCH NOTES
- #22 San Diego def. San Diego State 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-16)
- San Diego moves to 7-3; San Diego State drops to 4-6
- Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego, California
- Attendance: 1,252
- Box Score
- VolleyMob Top 25 (Week 4)
Defending their home court, the San Diego Toreros swept the San Diego State Aztecs Tuesday night in a cross-town rivalry. Offensively, the Toreros led the match with a total of 47 kills with a .305 hitting percentage, while the Aztecs had 32 kills with a .121 hitting percentage. Despite the loss, the Aztecs were aggressive from the service line and had three aces in the first set alone with a total of five for the match, while the Toreros only had one ace.
The Toreros were led by their junior middle blocker duo Addie Picha and Kaitey Edwards. Picha had a career-high 11 kills on 19 attempts hitting .368 and Edwards had 11 kills on 19 attempts hitting .526. Senior setter Kristin Gengenbacher is currently ranked 12th in the nation in assists per set and tonight she tallied 35 assists and added 4 kills.
For San Diego State, junior outside hitter Alexandra Psoma led the Aztecs with 7 kills and 6 digs. Both senior outside hitter Alexis Cage and junior middle blocker Deja Harris also notched 7 kills in the match, hitting .190 and .167, respectively.
In the first set, the two teams were trading points up until the last few points. After an ace from Psoma, San Diego State had it all tied up at 22-22, but the Toreros would score the next two points with a kill from Picha and then an Aztec hitting error making it 24-22. After the Aztecs took their second timeout, a kill by Cage got the Aztecs within one point from tying it. But, the Toreros would end it at 25-23 with Edwards notching her 4th kill of the set.
The Toreros came out strong in the second set with an early 10-5 lead. They maintained their lead throughout the rest of the match. The second set ended on a double block from senior opposite Jayden Kennedy and Picha to win 25-18. By the end of the second set, the Toreros total hitting percentage was .328 with 32 kills compared to a .169 total hitting percentage with 22 kills for the Aztecs. The Toreros continued their efficient hitting with 15 more kills in the third set and would close out the set and match with Picha’s 11th kill.
With this win, San Diego leads the all-time series against the Aztecs 30-23 and in the past 20 years, the Toreros are 26-3.
San Diego head to San Francisco on September 21 to start West Coast Conference play, while San Diego State heads to the Denver Invitational and will play UC Riverside on Friday.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: San Diego Athletics
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The 17th-ranked Torero volleyball team (7-3) swept San Diego State 3-0 in front of 1,262 fans inside of the Jenny Craig Pavilion Tuesday evening. Addie Picha and Kaity Edwards led the Toreros with 11 kills each, which was a career-high for Picha.
The Toreros hit .305 and held the Aztecs to a .121 hitting percentage on their way to a 25-23, 25-18, 25-16 victory. All seven of the Toreros’ wins this season have been sweeps.
Kristen Gengenbacher recorded 35 assists and notched a season-high four kills. Lizzy Tardieu had 13 digs and Payton Douglass had seven.
The Toreros got off to a rough start and trailed the majority of the first set. After falling behind by five points, the Toreros eventually tied the match at 17-17 before rallying for the 25-23 win.
The second and third sets were much smoother for USD. They hit .367 in the second set and opened up a 12-7 lead early on. The Aztecs closed within two points (18-16) but USD finished the set on a 7-2 run. In the third set, the Toreros took a 5-4 lead and would never trail again.
The Aztecs had three players with a team-high seven kills. Gabi Peoples had 24 assists and Devyn Pritchard had a team-high ten digs.
This was the final non-conference match for USD. After a nine day break, they will open their WCC schedule at San Francisco September 21st.
Courtesy: San Diego State Athletics
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team opened its six-match road swing on a disappointing note Tuesday after dropping a three-set decision to No. 17 San Diego (23-25, 18-25, 16-25) in the annual city showdown at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
With the loss, the Aztecs saw their two-match winning streak snapped, slipping to 4-6 on the season, while the Toreros collected their ninth straight victory in the series, improving to 7-3 overall.
USD outhit the Scarlet and Black .305-.121, limiting the visitors to a .078 clip over the final two sets. In addition, the Toreros maintained the upper hand in kills (47-32), digs (37-32) and total blocks (7.0-6.0).
Individually, SDSU was led by the trio of Deja Harris, Alexandra Psoma and Alexis Cage, who launched seven kills apiece, while Devyn Pritchard posted double-digit digs for the seventh time this year, finishing with 10 scoops on the night. The Aztec charge was also advanced by Gabi Peoples, who handed out 24 assists, while Baylee Little notched three block assists.
SDSU led by as many as five in the opening set, building a 12-7 advantage following an errant USD attack and a Psoma kill. However, the Toreros responded with a 14-6 outburst, as consecutive kills by Kristen Gengenbacher, Jayden Kennedy and Roxie Wiblin gave the host school a 21-18 lead.
The Aztecs fought back to tie the score at 22-22, with Psoma contributing a kill, block assist and service ace during a 4-1 spurt. But SDSU could not sustain the momentum, as USD received kills by Addie Picha and Kaity Edwards sandwiched around an Aztec attack error to secure the frame.
In the second stanza, the Toreros broke open a tight 5-4 score with a timely 10-4 run, extending the margin to 15-8 following kills by Kennedy and Picha. SDSU clawed its way back into contention, garnering two kills and two blocks by Harris while capitalizing on a pair of USD attack error and a wayward serve.
Trailing 17-16 at this juncture, the Aztecs had their comeback hopes dashed when the Toreros utilized an 8-2 closing run to build a 2-0 advantage in sets. USD received three blocks during that span, including two by Picha, who also provided a kill, while Edwards and Kennedy added one put-away each as well.
SDSU hit just .050 in the third set, knocking down 10 kills in 40 attempts with eight errors, but trailed just 11-9 after a Harris kill, an errant attack and a block by Little and Peoples. However, the Toreros gave themselves some separation with a 7-3 run, and the Aztecs never threatened again.
Edwards (.526) and Picha (.368) recorded 11 kills apiece to pace USD, while Gengenbacher finished with 35 assists. In addition, Lizzy Tardieu led all players with 13 digs on the evening.
San Diego State returns to the court this weekend when it travels to the Rocky Mountains for the University of Denver Invitational, Sept. 15-16, in Denver, Colorado. The Aztecs will battle UC Riverside in their opener on Friday at 3 p.m. MT/2 p.m. PT before battling Gonzaga (10 a.m. MT/9 a.m. PT) and the host Pioneers (7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT) on Saturday.
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