LAS VEGAS – For the second year in a row, the San Diego State volleyball team had its season ended in the semifinals of the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Championship by Colorado State after dropping a 3-1 decision (25-18, 20-25, 18-25, 13-25) on Friday at The Pavilion on the UNLV campus.

Capturing the opening set, the sixth-seeded Aztecs (15-16) fought valiantly but were unable to keep pace with the No. 2 seed Rams (21-8), who hit .474 over the final two frames, knocking down 28 kills against only one attack error in 57 attempts to win going away.

As a result, Colorado State will face top-seeded Utah State (22-7) in the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. PT. The Aggies needed reverse sweep (3-2) to thwart an upset bid by fourth-seeded Boise State in Friday’s other semifinal contest.

Against the Rams, SDSU was led by Ella Schabort’s 11 kills, while Taylor Underwood launched 10 non-returnables of her own. With her performance, Underwood, a three-time all-MW honoree, finishes her illustrious Aztec career with 1,054 kills and 1,318 put-aways overall after spending her freshman season at DePaul in 2022.

In addition, Madison Corf just missed a double-double with nine kills and a team-high 12 digs, adding a solo block, while Talea Mitchell finished with seven terminations and one block assists/

The SDSU cause was also buffeted by Mila Gehlen’s (.385) six kills off the bench, while Kendall Mairs (21 assists, 4 digs) and Sarena Gonzalez (18 assists, 6 digs, 2 aces) shared the setting responsibilities.

Elsewhere, Zara Stewart reached double figures in digs for the 29th time in 31 appearances this season after recording 11 scoops on Friday.

Collectively, the Aztecs were out-hit .355 to .178 on Friday, allowing just their second opponent to register a .300 efficiency or higher this year. CSU also maintained the statistical advantage in kills (54-49), digs (57-48) and team blocks (8.0 to 3.0) to help spark their win.

The teams battled through a combined 22 ties and 10 lead changes in a hard-fought first two sets of action.

SDSU used a strong 10-3 closing run to seize the opening frame. With the score deadlocked at 15-15, the Aztecs scored four straight points to vault in front for good thanks to a service error, Gonzalez’s ace and consecutive kills by Schabort and Natalie Hughes. The Rams were unable draw any closer than three points the rest of the way, as Corf terminated two late shots before a bad set gave the Scarlet and Black the clincher.

Mitchell and Corf led the Aztecs with four kills apiece in the first set, while Schabort knocked down three in that span. SDSU logged its highest hitting percentage of the day with a .286 clip in the frame.

However, San Diego State was plagued by inconsistency for the remainder of the match, hitting just .144 over the final three sets.

Still, the Aztecs managed to coax a 16-15 lead in the second stanza after a Keira Herron service ace. However, the Rams tallied four straight points to take the lead for good. Delany McIntosh twirled two aces in that span, while Eve Wilson and Erin Debiec joined forces on a blocks before Maria Brun launched a kill.

Suddenly trailing 19-16, SDSU responded with a Mitchell put-away but could narrow the gap no further, as Colorado State kept the Scarlet and Black with a 6-3 surge down the stretch. Brun highlighted the run with three kills, while Kekua Richards added another before the Aztecs were plagued by a bad set, ending any comeback hopes.

Stung, San Diego State tried to rally in the third frame after the Rams built a 13-8 advantage following a Halle Jameson kill. The Aztecs indeed fought back to tie the score at 16-16, as a Gehlen kill punctuated an 8-3 spurt. However, CSU reclaimed the lead for good shortly thereafter following a Brun put-away and an Aztec attack error.

SDSU was plagued by three additional errant swings down the stretch, while Jameson supplied two late kills, including the clincher, giving the Rams a 2-1 lead on the set scoreboard.

Gehlen and Schabort led the Aztec offense with three kills apiece in the frame, while Mitchell, Corf and Underwood contributed two apiece. However, CSU hit .516 in the set, launching 16 put-aways in 31 attempts without an error.

The Rams followed that production with a .423 efficiency in the fourth stanza when it knocked down 12 kills in 26 swings with just one miscue. Conversely, the Aztecs picked an inopportune time to go cold with a .098 clip in the frame, as seven errors offset 11 kills in 41 attempts.

With the score tied at 3-3, the Rams tallied four straight points to vault in front for good. Wilson terminated two shots in that span, while the Scarlet and Black committed consecutive attack errors.

The Aztecs never got closer than three points the rest of the way, as Aine Doty served up two aces down the stretch, including one for the match winner.

Wilson (14), Jameson (13), Richards (12) and Brun (12) combined for 51 of Colorado State’s 54 kills, while Debiec was one of three Ram players to complete double-doubles after finishing with 39 assists and 13 digs to go with a match-high six blocks, including a solo effort. Brun also logged a double-double after collecting a match-high 15 digs, while Jameson accomplished the feat as well with 10 scoops of her own.