Woodland, Calif.----- San Jose State University junior Sierra Painter was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women's water polo "Player of the Week" for leading the Spartans to a 9-7 road conference win over #8-Arizona State.
Painter led the Spartans in scoring in the March 30 contest with three goals in the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center pool on the Arizona State campus. She put the Spartans on the scoreboard after Arizona State took an early 2-0 lead. Her third goal of the match boosted San Jose State's lead to 8-4, its first and only four-goal advantage of the contest.
"Sierra had an amazing game for us and it wasn't just on the stat sheet. Her first two goals kept us in the game and her third goal gave us an even bigger buffer," said San Jose State women's water polo head coach Gabor Sarusi.
"She was a real good leader in the pool. Her teammates were feeding off of her energy the entire game. This honor is very well deserved."
Her three goals give her 24 for the season and ranks 25th among all MPSF players in goals per match. Her previous best goal-scoring total in a season was 13 as a sophomore in 2017. Painter is the first Spartan named MPSF Women's Water Polo "Player of the Week" since Painter's former teammate Rae Lkeness received the conference honor in the 2017 season.
San Jose State returns to action Sunday, April 7, hosting UCLA in a MPSF contest starting at Noon at the West Valley College Aquatics Center. Following the match, there will be a Spartan alumni contest beginning at 2:00 p.m.