San Jose, Calif.—In a match that featured 41 tied scores and 17 lead changes, UNLV got the final lead change on the San José State volleyball team as the Spartans fell 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23) Saturday afternoon in a home Mountain West match at Spartan Gym.
The two teams battled throughout every set, with no team holding a true advantage in any set until the final point was posted. UNLV's biggest lead of the day came in the first set at 11-6, while the Spartans led by four points four times in the match.
In the Spartans' winning second set, the team was up 23-21 and had to fight off UNLV after the Rebels tied the set at 23-23. Caitlin Bettenay killed the ball for point 24, and Thaliana Grajeda and Haylee Nelson combined for the block and point 25 for the 25-23 win.
Latahevai Lousi led the Spartans with 15 kills and hit a team-best .371 for the match (15-2-35). Giulia Gávio hit .318 for the match 12 kills on 22 attempts and five errors. Bettenay added nine kills, while Grajeda and Nelson each had six kills.
Setter Kaitlynn Zdroik recorded her first career double-double with 28 assists and a career-high 10 digs. Mamie Garard added 14 assists and five digs.
The Spartans served tough for the second consecutive match with 11 aces. Grajeda led the team with a career-best five service aces, followed by Zdroik with two and one each from Sarah Smevog, Bettenay, Garard and Luiza Andrade.
Andrade recorded her second consecutive match with 20+ digs as she had 24 digs in the match to lead SJSU. Smevog added nine digs for the Spartans.
San José State is now 12-11 overall and 7-7 in the MW. The team plays at Nevada this Tuesday, November 6, at 6:30 p.m., and then returns home next Saturday, November 10, to face Air Force in the final home match of the year at 2 p.m.
MW Match
Spartan Gym
UNLV def. San José State – 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23).
Kills – UNLV – Mariena Hayden 15, Thea Sweder 14, Kate Brennan 10.
SJSU – Latahevai Lousi 15, Giulia Gávio 12.
Records – UNLV 18-8, 9-5; SJSU 12-11, 7-7.
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