FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The second match of the 2002 Mountain West Conference Championship saw the second-seeded San Diego State Aztecs defeat the seventh-seeded New Mexico Lobos in three-games, 30-23, 30-23, 30-27. San Diego State improves to 21-11 overall, while the Lobos fall to 8-20.
San Diego State was led by outside hitter Rochelle Currier with 18 kills, while middle blocker Aspen McPartland and outside hitter Zlatina Anguelova both chipped in 13 kills and McPartland hit a match-high .458. She also led all players with 17 digs and was one of four Aztecs to record four blocks. Defensive specialist Robyn Gregg and Anguelova both added 12 digs and Gregg had the only three service aces of the entire match.
New Mexico was led by outside hitter Anna Reines with 19 kills and a .326 hitting percentage, while Blaire Burns, who recently moved back to outside hitter after serving as the team's libero most of the year, led the team with 11 digs and had seven kills. Middle blocker Vanessa Shields led the Lobos with five blocks.
San Diego State will now face Utah in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Championship tomorrow in the 4:00 p.m. (MST) match. The other two first round matches are tonight at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and feature #4 BYU vs #5 UNLV and #1 Colorado State vs #8 Air Force, respectively.
GAME NOTES
Quarterfinal Match No. 2
(2) San Diego State vs. (7) New Mexico
The Aztecs entered this year's tournament with their highest seed since the formation of the MWC four years ago. The Lobos were a No. 7 seed for the second straight year.
San Diego State will face Utah for the third time this year on Friday at 4 p.m. The Aztecs and Utes split two matches this year with each team winning at home.
The Aztecs posted their first three-game victory in MWC Tournament play with the win over the Lobos. San Diego State had played a five-game match in the quarterfinals of the MWC Tournament each of the past three years (1999-lost to Utah 3-2; 2000-def. New Mexico 3-2; 2001 lost to UNLV 3-2).
San Diego State's Aspen McPartland recorded her third straight double-double and 16th of the year with 13 kills and 17 digs vs. the Lobos. McPartland also moved into fourth place on the MWC career dig list and currently has 816.
SDSU's Zlatina Anguelova recorded her 13th double-double of the year and 21st overall with 13 kills and 12 digs.
With 19 kills today, New Mexico's Anna Reines topped double figure kills for the 18th time this season, including six straight.
Volleyball Box Score
Volleyball Box Score (3rd game)
Colorado State 2002 Volleyball
New Mexico Lobos vs San Diego State (Nov 21, 2002 at Fort Collins, Colo.)
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 8.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 14 5 40 .225 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS
2 17 5 39 .308 New Mexico Lobos.... 23 23 27 8-20, 3-11 MWC
3 20 8 58 .207 San Diego State..... 30 30 30 21-11, 11-3 MWC
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 23 8 43 .349 Site: Fort Collins, Colo. (Moby Arena)
2 19 6 39 .333 Date: Nov 21, 2002 Attend: 225 Time: 1:35
3 20 6 57 .246 Referees: Verna Klubnikin, Eric Asami
First Round MWC Championship
