San Jose, Calif.— For the first time since 2008, the San José State volleyball team defeated Boise State, 3-0, on Saturday in a Mountain West match inside Spartan Gym.
SJSU had lost 14 consecutive matches to the Broncos and had not taken a set in the series since the first meeting in 2014.
The Spartans used a strong serving against the Broncos Saturday after committing 16 service errors in the loss to Utah State Thursday night. SJSU recorded a season-best 12 service aces while only having four service errors. Luiza Andrade led the team with a career-high six ace. Caitlin Bettenay added two aces, while four others each had an ace – Mamie Garard, Thaliana Grajeda, Fernanda Vido and Sarah Smevog.
Bettenay led the team with nine kills, while Latahevai Lousi had eight. Grajeda had a team-best four blocks, while Lousi add three blocks.
Andrade led the team with 13 digs and four assists, while Vidoe had eight digs to go with her five kills. Smevog came off the bench and recorded eight digs, two assists and an ace in the win. Garard added 25 assists, eight digs and a solo block for SJSU.
The Spartans and Broncos battled early in the first set. Boise State had a 5-4 lead before the Spartans used a 10-7 run to open up the lead to 15-11. San José State needed two tries at set point to win 25-20 on a Lousi kill.
In the second set, SJSU led from the first serve as Lousi started the scoring with a kill. Boise State made it close at the end of the set as SJSU led 24-16. The Broncos scored six consecutive points before the Spartans won 25-22 on a Bettenay kill.
The two teams battled in the third set, with 14 tie scores but only two lead changes. Tied at 21-21, SJSU got a Bettenay kill and an Andrade service ace to force the Broncos to take a timeout. Boise State then cut the lead to 24-23 before Vido recorded her fifth kill of the match and gave San José State its first win in MW play.
San José State is now 6-7 on the season and 1-3 in MW play. The team plays two road matches next week – October 4 at UNLV and the 6th at New Mexico. Links to live stats and video can be found on www.sjsuspartans.com.
MW Match
Spartan Gym
San José State def. Boise State – 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-23).
Kills – BS – Sabryn Roberts 13; SJSU – Caitlin Bettenay 9.
Records – Boise State 10-5, 2-2; San José State 6-7, 1-3.
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