San Diego State's first Pac-12 volleyball set ended with Taelyn Bentley putting down the winning ball. The next three belonged to Colorado State. The Rams' 23-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-19 victory Thursday at Moby Arena turned the Aztecs' promising opening into a third consecutive loss.
SDSU survived 13 ties and four lead changes in the first. At 20-20, Ella Schabort's kill and a Colorado State attack error started the closing push. The Rams drew within one three times, the last at 24-23, before Bentley finished the set. She and Schabort supplied five kills apiece in a frame the Aztecs hit .263.
The Rams took control above the net. Colorado State finished with 14 team blocks to SDSU's four and used three blocks in the second set to blunt an Aztec attack that still produced a 13-12 edge in kills. SDSU committed seven attack errors in that set to Colorado State's two. Similar contact produced a very different score because one side kept giving points away.
The Aztecs trailed 10-2 in the second before cutting the gap to 14-12 through kills by Layla Austin, Bentley and Schabort. Colorado State responded with five straight points, including a joint block by Eve Wilson and Sofia Zabjek. SDSU did not get within five again, and the match returned to even.
The third set broke it open. SDSU recorded 10 kills but also 10 attack errors in 34 swings. Colorado State countered with 11 kills and one error in 26 attempts, a .385 hitting percentage. After the Aztecs closed to 11-9, the Rams completed the frame on a 14-5 run while SDSU committed five unforced attack errors down the stretch.
There was one more chance to extend the match. Austin's kill brought SDSU within 11-10 in the fourth. Colorado State answered 6-1, with Wilson contributing two kills and sharing a block with Halle Jameson. The Aztecs twice trimmed the margin to five, then Jameson supplied the final point.
Schabort tied for the match lead with 13 kills, and Austin added 11. Bentley was the most efficient Aztec, delivering nine kills without an error in 12 attempts for a .750 percentage. Kendall Mairs recorded 38 assists and 11 digs for her eighth double-double, while Zara Stewart led all players with 17 digs.
SDSU finished with 51 kills, one fewer than Colorado State, and held a 55-41 advantage in digs. Those totals could not overcome a .126 overall hitting percentage and 19 unforced attack errors. The Rams hit .317 and committed eight such errors. Their edge came less from generating many more attacks than from ending points cleanly and closing space above the net.
The loss left SDSU 5-6 overall and 0-1 in its new conference. Colorado State improved to 8-3 and 1-0. The Aztecs travel to Fresno State Saturday, carrying a clear correction from the opener: the first-set offense was competitive enough to win, but the match turned when errors multiplied, side-out pressure disappeared and the Rams' block dictated where the ball could go on repeated late-set swings.