Nov. 7, 2013
San Jose, Calif.--Trailing 0-2, the San José State volleyball team turned its hitting around and recorded a season-high 17 blocks for a 3-2 (23-25, 26-28, 25-16, 25-23, 15-7) win over San Diego State in a Mountain West match at The Event Center.
After hitting .188 in the first two sets (25-10-80), the Spartans (7-17, 4-9) came out of the break hitting .536 in the third set and .316 in the fifth set. The team hit .337 over the final three sets (37-9-83).
Mary Alice O'Reilly and Sarah Griest were two big keys to the San José State victory Thursday night. O'Reilly led the team with 19 kills and hit .459 on the night with only two hitting errors. She also recorded her first career double-double with 12 blocks.
Her biggest contribution may have come blocking as she became just the 23rd player in school history to record 10 or more blocks in a game with her 12 on the night (2 solo, 10 assists). O'Reilly is the ninth player at San José State to record 12 blocks in a match. The last Spartan player with 10 or more blocks was Kylie Miraldi with 14 against UC Riverside on September 17, 2011.
Griest hit .542 to lead the team as she recorded 14 kills on 24 attempts and just one hitting error. She added two key service aces and five blocks, one solo and four assists, in the match.
Michaela Leonard recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 53 assists and 12 digs. She also tied her career-high with five block assists. Lauren Jacobsen added 13 kills, eight digs and six block assists for the Spartans.
Others contributing to the win included Cori O'Donoghue with a team-best 18 digs. Tyanna Roy had six kills and two blocks, while Sydney LaFollette added two kills and two digs. Kiely Pieper had nine digs, while Brittney Diffinè added three digs.
The Spartan victory came as the team played without its top player. Hanah Blume went down with an ankle injury in the second set and was unable to return. When she left the match, she had six kills and three digs for the Spartans.
San José State looks to extend its two-match winning streak this Saturday with a Mountain West match against UNLV. First serve is set for 2 p.m., at The Event Center.
Mountain West Match
The Event Center
San José State def. San Diego State - 23-25, 26-28, 25-16, 25-23, 15-7.
Kills - SDSU - Summer Nash 21; Raegan Shelton 14.
SJSU - Mary Alice O'Reilly 19; Sarah Griest 14; Lauren Jacobsen 13.
Records - San Diego State 12-11, 7-6; San José State 7-17, 4-9.
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