Sept. 2, 2016
Orem, Utah-- Giulia Gávio recorded a career-best 32 kills, but the San José State volleyball team fell to Southern Utah, 3-2 (25-15, 19-25, 34-32, 23-25, 15-11) Friday afternoon at the Wolverine Invitational hosted by Utah Valley.
Gávio is just one of five Spartans in school history to record 32 kills in match along with Joslynn Gallop, Dawnis Wilson, Betsy Welsh and Linda Fournet. The 32 kills are the third-highest total in San José State history.
Gávio also recorded her first double-double of the season and second of her career with 16 digs to go with her 32 kills. She hit a team-best .391 in the match with 64 attempts and only seven hitting errors.
Thaliana Grajeda continued her blocking prowess for the second consecutive match, this time with 11 blocks against the Thunderbirds, tying for the third-highest total in school history. She is the ninth player in school history to record 11 blocks in a match.
The blocking game for San José State (3-1) recorded 17 blocks (34 block assists), the highest in match since the Spartans recorded 17 against San Diego State on November 7, 2013. After Grajeda's 11 blocks, Nandyala Gama had six blocks, Breann Robinson with five, and Thelma Grétarsdottir and Latahevai Lousi with four each.
Luiza Andrade was one of three players with double-digit digs in the match as she tied her career high with 24 digs. Grétarsdottir recorded her second consecutive double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs.
Others with key contributions included Robinson with a career-high 63 assists and seven digs, Gama with 10 kills, Lousi with eight kills, and Jamie Hirai with six digs.
After falling 25-16 in the first set, San José State rebounded in set two with a 25-19 win. The team trailed 19-16 to Southern Utah (1-3) before scoring the next nine points for the victory.
Both teams battled in the third set as the team's traded the lead 10 times and had 19 tied scores. Each team had five set points before Southern Utah was able to win 34-32. The Spartans had set point at 27-26, 28-27, 29-28, 31-30, and 32-31.
The fourth set was also a battle as the two teams tied 15 times, and the lead changed six times. The Spartans hit .343 for the set with 17 kills on 35 attempts with five errors. The team took the lead for good a 22-21 on a Thunderbird hitting error, and won the set on a Grétarsdottir kill.
San José State jumped out to a 7-5 lead in the fifth set, but Southern Utah scored seven consecutive points to a 12-7 lead and won the set 15-11.
San José State continues at the Wolverine Invitational with two matches on Saturday. The Spartans face North Texas at 10 a.m. MT/9 a.m. PT; and host Utah Valley at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT.
Wolverine Invitational
Orem, Utah
Southern Utah def. San José State - 3-2 (25-16, 19-25, 34-32, 23-25, 15-11).
Kills - SJSU - Giulia Gávio 32; SUU - Macky Fifita 25.
Records - San José State - 3-1; Southern Utah 1-3.
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