Sept. 28, 2017
San Diego, Calif.-The San José State volleyball team fought off two match points and scored three of the final points to defeat San Diego State 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 27-29, 25-16, 17-15) Thursday night at Aztec Court at Peterson Gym.
If stats tell the tale of the match, then tonight's stats are very telling. In the three sets the Spartans won, the team hit .384 (42-9-86), while the team hit only .029 in the two sets lost (19-17-70). For the match, San José State hit .224 (61-26-156).
Four Spartans recorded double-digit kills, led by Giulia Gávio with 19, followed by Latahevai Lousi with 11 and Thaliana Grajeda and Nandyala Gama with 10 each. Grajeda led the team in hitting at .400 (10-2-20).
With six block assists in the match, Gama moved up two San José State career lists. She is now sixth all-time in block assists with 329, passing Kim Hicks who had 324. Gama passed Stephanie Pascucci on the all-time blocks list and now has 289 total blocks. Gama needs two blocks on Saturday to tie Cristin Rossman for fifth place at 291.
Breann Robinson crept closer to 2,000 career assists as she recorded 46 in the match and now has 1,969 assists at San José State. She was one dig away from a double-double with nine digs and added four blocks, one solo and three assists.
Libero Luiza Andrade led the Spartans with 20 digs and continued her quest for 1,000 career digs. She now has 953 career digs, 47 short of 1,000.
After hitting -.062 in the first set lost, the Spartans rebounded in the second set to hit .324. The teams traded the lead nine times before San José State took the lead for good at 19-18 on a Gávio kill and clinched the set at 25-23 on a Lousi kill.
After the intermission, San José State again hit only .105 in losing set three 29-27. The team did have set point at 24-23, but the Aztecs kept fighting. The two teams tied the score four times before SDSU won 29-27.
After falling behind 1-0 to start set four, the Spartans went on a 14-3 run to take control of the set and won 25-16, forcing a fifth set.
The two teams battled in the fifth set, the lead changing four times and the score tied seven times. San Diego State led 12-8, before the Spartans got to within 13-12. The Aztecs had the first match point at 14-12, but a Grajeda kill kept the match alive for the Spartans. The Aztecs then had an attack error to tie the match at 14-14. San José State took a 15-14 lead on an Arianna Newcomb service ace, but a Newcomb service error tied the match at 15-15.
The Spartans then took back the lead as the Aztecs recorded a service error. Jamie Hirai then served the final time for SJSU, and Gama put the ball away for the 17-15 set win and 3-2 match victory.
San José State improves to 10-4 overall and 2-1 MW record. The Spartans now travel to Fresno State for a match against the Bulldogs on Saturday, September 30 at 1 p.m.
Mountain West Match
San José State def. San Diego State 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 27-29, 25-16, 17-15).
Kills â€" SJSU â€" Giulia Gávio 19, Latahevai Lousi 11, Thaliana Grajeda 10, Nandyala Gama 10.
SDSU â€" Ashlynn Dunbar 16, Hannah Turnlund 15, Deja Harris 15.
Records â€" San José State 10-4, 2-1; San Diego State 6-10, 0-3.
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