FORT COLLINS – San Diego State volleyball began a new chapter Thursday night, playing its first match as a member of the Pac-12.
The Aztecs opened conference play on the road against Colorado State, taking the first set before the Rams responded to hand SDSU a 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-19) loss at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. The loss dropped SDSU to 5-6 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Colorado State represented an early test for the Aztecs in their new conference. The Rams entered Pac-12 play receiving votes in the Sept. 21 AVCA national poll and were selected to finish first in the Pac-12 preseason poll. CSU's only three losses entering Thursday had come against nationally ranked SMU, North Carolina and Colorado.
But SDSU showed early that it could compete with one of the conference's preseason favorites.
The first set featured 13 ties and four lead changes, with neither team able to create much separation. SDSU finally gained some breathing room when setter Kendall Mairs recorded an ace and Taelyn Bentley followed with a kill to give the Aztecs a 17-14 advantage.
Colorado State eventually tied the set at 20, but SDSU answered. Ella Schabort delivered two kills during the Aztecs' closing stretch before Bentley finished the set with a kill for the 25-23 win.
SDSU's offense was at its best in the opening frame, hitting .263 with 16 kills. Bentley was perfect offensively with five kills on five attempts, while Schabort added five kills and hit .455.
Colorado State, however, began to take control at the net and limit the Aztecs' offense over the next three sets.
The Rams jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the second set, forcing SDSU to play from behind early. The Aztecs managed to cut the deficit to three at 14-11, but CSU rebuilt its advantage and took the set 25-19.
SDSU's offensive efficiency continued to decline as the match progressed. After hitting .263 in the opening set, the Aztecs hit .171 in the second, .000 in the third and .056 in the fourth. SDSU finished the match hitting .126 compared with Colorado State's .317.
The difference at the net was even more pronounced. Colorado State finished with 14 team blocks while SDSU recorded four. The Rams committed only 12 attacking errors across four sets, compared with 33 for the Aztecs.
Still, several pieces SDSU expected to rely upon entering its first Pac-12 season were evident in the conference opener.
Schabort led the Aztecs with 13 kills and added seven digs, while Bentley provided an efficient presence in the middle with nine kills on 12 swings and no attacking errors, good for a .750 hitting percentage. Tessa Schouten, another middle blocker, added seven kills while hitting .267.
That production from Bentley and Schouten is especially notable for an SDSU team that entered the season needing to replace production in the middle following the departures of Amber Keen and Talea Mitchell.
Mairs, another key returner from last season, directed the offense with 38 assists and added 11 digs, while libero Zara Stewart (who entered the season as one of SDSU's most important returning defensive pieces) finished with a match-high 17 digs.
The Rams ultimately closed out the match with consecutive 25-14 and 25-19 set victories. CSU improved to 8-3 overall and 1-0 in Pac-12 play.
For SDSU, Thursday marked more than the beginning of conference play. It was the program's first opportunity to see how it stacks up in its new Pac-12 home. And the opening set offered an early glimpse of what the Aztecs can look like when their passing and middle attack are working.
The Scarlet and Black remain on the road for the Pac-12 opening weekend, heading to Fresno State on Saturday at 1 p.m. Watch on the Pac-12 channel.
Web photo credit: Natalie Tullar/@nstphotography_
