San Diego State had forced the match back into reach and held two chances to send it to a fifth set. Cal Poly answered both, won the final four rallies and beat the Aztecs 25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 26-24 on Friday afternoon in the closing match of the Aggie Invitational in Davis.
The fourth-set turn was compact and costly. SDSU moved ahead 24-22, one point from extending a comeback that began after dropping the first two frames. The Mustangs sided out, tied the score and scored twice more. Their 4-0 finish denied the Aztecs a deciding set and left SDSU at 3-2 while Cal Poly improved to 3-1.
The rally totals showed a match shaped as much by breakdowns as by clean attacks. The teams combined for 48 attack errors and 28 service errors. SDSU finished with more digs, 70-65, but Cal Poly held advantages in kills, 53-50; blocks, 11-9; and aces, 5-3. The Mustangs converted those small edges into the last margin of each close set.
Cal Poly established its lead with matching 25-22 scores in the first two frames. SDSU responded in the third, where Layla Austin put down six kills on 10 swings with one error. From an 18-all tie, the Aztecs ran off seven of the next nine points. That finish produced their cleanest stretch and pushed the match past three sets.
Austin and Ella Schabort each finished with 14 kills. Austin added 11 digs, and Schabort had 12 digs plus five block assists. Their double-doubles supplied much of the Aztecs' balance across the front and back rows. Tessa Schouten contributed nine kills and seven block assists, helping SDSU stay even at the net despite Cal Poly's overall blocking advantage.
Setter Kendall Mairs recorded a career-high 41 assists and collected 12 digs. It was her third consecutive double-double and fourth of the season. Zara Stewart led the match with 17 digs. Those numbers document an offense that generated enough swings to recover, but not enough separation to withstand Cal Poly's last run.
Emma Frederick led the Mustangs with 17 kills and 11 digs. Her sharpest work came in the fourth, when she recorded seven kills on 13 attempts without an error for a .538 hitting percentage. Cal Poly could return to its primary scorer late without surrendering efficiency, an important contrast in a set decided beyond 25.
The defeat closed a two-match stay in Davis one day after SDSU swept UC Davis. Across the two matches, the Aztecs showed different ways a narrow set can turn: they survived extended pressure against the Aggies, then could not finish from 24-22 against the Mustangs. A 1-1 tournament record leaves both patterns available for the next week of practice.
SDSU next travels to the Santa Clara Mission Classic from Sept. 11 through Sept. 13, with matches against Santa Clara, California and Cal State Bakersfield. The adjustment is specific. The Aztecs already showed they could change the match after falling behind; the unfinished work is holding a two-point advantage when only one sideout remains.