RENO, Nev. – The San Diego State volleyball team was unable to handle Nevada's presence in the middle on Saturday, dropping a four-set decision (21-25, 25-22, 14-25, 21-25) in a Mountain West match at Virginia Street Gym.
Despite maintaining a 56-49 edge in kills, the Aztecs were out-hit .302 to .180 by the Wolf Pack, who held a decisive 15.0 to 2.0 advantage in team blocks and a 9-2 margin in service aces to help fuel their victory.
With the result, SDSU suffered its fourth consecutive defeat, slipping to 7-12 on the season and 2-6 in conference play, while Nevada won its second straight, improving to 6-13 overall and an identical 2-6 mark in MW action.
Once again, the Aztec attack was paced by Taylor Underwood, who blasted a match-high 15 kills, while Julia Haynie floored 11 shots, posting a .421 hitting percentage with three errors in 19 attempts. In addition, SDSU received a spark off the bench from Mikela Labno, who knocked down nine kills of her own, while Reno native Amber Keen (.385) launched a season-high six non-returnables in her first return to her hometown.
Defensively, three SDSU players finished with double-digit dig totals, including Bailey Darnell, who surpassed that barrier for the third straight match after recording 11 scoops, while McDouglas and Reagan Merk collected 10 apiece, with the latter also contributing seven kills, two aces and a pair of block assists.
The Aztec cause was also advanced by Fatimah Hall (25 assists) and Sarena Gonzalez (22 assists), who split the setting chores.
Conversely, the Wolf Pack were led by Bella Snyder (11), Gabby McLaughlin (10) and Niconora Clarke (10), who all surpassed the double-digit kill plateau, with Sia Liilii (9) and Jordan Schwartz (8) not far behind in that category.
McLaughlin also completed a double-double thanks to a 10-dig effort, while Liilii just missed replicating that feat after posting 11 scoops of her own, trailing Hikialani Kaohelaulii, who amassed a match-high 12 in that statistic.
Schwartz was a proverbial thorn in SDSU's side all afternoon, totaling seven blocks, including one solo stuff, while Snyder (1 solo) came up with five rejections of her own, followed by Liillii and Tehya Maeva (2 solo) with four apiece. Additionally, Maeva led all players with 41 assists at the setter position, helping Nevada snap a four-match losing streak against the Aztecs.
SDSU featured a balanced offense in the first set, as Underwood, Merk and Haynie each contributed four put-aways to the visitors' 16-kill attack. However, the Scarlet and Black was undone by six errors, four of which were the result of Nevada blocks, while the host school served up three aces.
Nursing a slim 15-14 lead, the Aztecs could not contain the exploits of Snyder, who smashed consecutive kills following an errant SDSU attack to put the Wolf Pack in front for good. In all, Snyder floored five shots during Nevada's decisive 11-6 closing run, while Schwartz and Clarke combined on a block shortly after an Emilie Parker service ace.
Snyder hit .778 without an error in the frame (7-0-9), while Schwartz totaled three block assists.
The teams combined for seven ties in the second stanza until Underwood's kill broke a 14-14 deadlock, while the Wolf Pack committed three consecutive attack errors. Merk's service ace and Haynie's put-away moments later capped an 8-1 surge to give the visitors a 22-15 advantage. Nevada crept within two at 24-22 following a wayward Aztec attack, but the Wolf Pack's comeback efforts were quickly dashed when Keen launched a kill for the clinching point.
SDSU limited Nevada to a minus-.037 hitting percentage in the frame with six kills against seven errors in 27 attempts. Individually, Underwood led the Scarlet and Black with four kills in that span, while Keen struck three times.
Any momentum that Aztecs had at this juncture gradually evaporated, as the Wolf Pack turned the tables by hitting .463 for the rest of the match while totaling nine team blocks. Nevada did not commit an attack error in the third set, amassing 15 kills in 24 swings for a .625 efficiency, as McLaughlin and Clarke floored four shots apiece, with the latter serving up two aces.
Conversely, SDSU hit just .161 in the frame, suffering seven miscues on the attack against 12 kills in 31 attempts. Nevada received solo blocks from Snyder and McLaughlin to cap a 14-5 opening blitz, and the Aztecs never threatened.
The teams battled through nine ties and four lead changes in the fourth stanza, as the Scarlet and Black tried to extend the match. With SDSU clinging to a 15-13 lead, the Wolf Pack scored seven straight points to seize control. Schwartz knocked down two kills and joined forces with Liilii on a block during the run, while the Aztecs were plagued by a wayward serve and a mishandled set.
SDSU responded with four consecutive tallies, including kills by Keen and Gonzalez and a pair of errant Nevada attacks, to pull within 20-19. Following a timeout, the Wolf Pack regrouped with a put-away by Schwartz, who also combined with Maeva on a block, to give the host school a 22-19 advantage. A Labno kill trimmed the margin to two, but Nevada closed with a 3-1 rush, highlighted by Maeva and McLaughlin's non-returnables, the latter of which accounted for the match-securing point.
Keen, Underwood and Haynie combined for nine of the Aztecs' 13 kills in the fourth set, but the Scarlet and Black hit just .154 in the frame, committing seven errors in 39 attempts. On the flip side, Snyder, Liilii and Schwartz contributed two block assists each in that span.
San Diego State wraps up the first half of its 2023 Mountain West regular-season schedule on Thursday, Oct. 19, when it plays host to Boise State on Aztec Court at Peterson Gym. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT.
Aztecs Toppled in Four Sets at Nevada
