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No. 7 Seed Aztecs Upset No. 2 Seed BYU in MWC Volleyball Quarterfinals The victory was the first-ever for a seventh-seeded squad since the tournament began in 1999.
Nov. 23, 2006 LAS VEGAS - The seventh-seeded San Diego State Aztecs (12-17) earned their way back into the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2003 with a 3-2 upset victory over the second-seeded BYU Cougars in Las Vegas, Nev., on Thursday afternoon. The Aztecs went up two-games to none before the Cougars rallied to even the score at two-all after four. SDSU won the match with final game-scores of 30-27, 30-28, 28-30, 24-30, 15-12.
With the victory the Aztecs propelled themselves into a semifinal match-up with the third-seeded Colorado State Rams. CSU needed four games to take care of the sixth-seeded TCU Horned Frogs. The SDSU-CSU match will begin at 1:30 pm on Friday afternoon.
The victory was the first-ever for a seventh-seeded squad since the tournament began in 1999. This was the first time that BYU had failed to reach the semifinals in that same time span.
All five games were highly contested as there was one game in which the leading team held more than a six-point lead and that was in the fourth game.
Each game went to the team with the highest hitting percentage. For the match, SDSU out hit BYU .181 to .163. On the other hand, BYU's offense put up two more kills than SDSU's, 75-to-73.
SDSU was led by Stephanie Darnall's double-double performance of 16 kills and 19 digs. Melanie Greene joined Darnall in the double-double department with a combination of 15 kills and 13 digs. Audra Dent threw down 15 kills, as well, while mixing in nine blocks (one solo).
With the Aztecs in a 6-2 formation, the assisting duties were split by Kristen Castillo and Leah Lathrop. Castillo registered 32 to Lathrop's 22.
At the net, SDSU dominated with 21.5 total blocks, four solo and 35 assisted. Kelley Wahlin led all blockers with two solo blocks, while assisting on 12 others. Her 14 total blocks set a new MWC Championship record for blocks in a single match.
Aime Cordeiro helped out her fellow teammates defensively with a match-high 33 digs, while Darnall and Greene joined her in double-digits.
BYU was led offensively by 18-kill performances by Rachel Dyer and Chelsea Goodman. Dyer hit for a match-high .429 for the Cougars. Erica Lott and Kim Wilson followed closely behind with 15 and 12 kill outings, respectively.
Helping BYU to 75 kills in the match was Amy Schlauder and her 62 assists.
Defensively, Anne Pinegar topped all Cougars in digs with 27. Erica Lott dug out 15 Aztec attacks, while Goodman and Schlauder put up double-figures, as well. |
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