San Jose, Calif.—The "Comeback Kids" did it again Tuesday night as the San José State volleyball team overcame more than one big deficit including in the fifth set to defeat Nevada 3-2 in a Mountain West match inside Spartan Gym.
The Spartans dropped the first set to Nevada 25-19, never taking a lead in the set. Set two was just the exact opposite as San José State lead from the first serve to win 25-19. The Wolf Pack did tie the set at 14-14, but the Spartans immediately took the lead back with a Caitlin Bettenay kill.
With the match tied at 1-1, hope sprung eternal for SJSU, but Nevada took a 2-1 lead and never looked back, winning 25-13, and held the Spartans to .000 hitting in the set.
San José State then started the comeback, battling Nevada in the fourth set. There were eight tied scores and two lead changes, the final at 9-8 on a Haylee Nelson kill. The Spartans held the lead for the rest of the set to win 25-18 and force a fifth set.
Nevada jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the fifth and deciding set and led 12-6 before the Spartan comeback started. After a Spartan timeout, a block by Ryann Thomison and Makayla Lewis gave SJSU the serve at 7-12. San José State cut the lead to 10-12 on kills by Nelson and Thaliana Grajeda.
The two teams then battled for the final points. Nevada extended their lead to 14-12, but the Spartans fought off two Wolf Pack match points to tie the set at 14-14 on a Tabea Schwarz kills. A Lewis service ace and Nevada hitting error gave the Spartans the 16-14 set win and 3-2 match victory.
"I am very thankful we fought back tonight," said Spartan head coach Jolene Shepardson. "That is a talented Nevada team. We showed a lot of courage and fight tonight, and our attitude was amazing."
Nelson led all hitters Tuesday night with a career-best 24 kills. The reigning MW Offensive Player of the Week recorded her second career double-double as she added 14 digs.
Grajeda hit .522 on the night with a season-best 12 kills on 23 attempts and no error. She added three blocks, two solo and one assist, on the night.
Schwarz came off the bench and added 10 kills, five digs and a solo block. Caitlin Bettenay added six kills, 15 digs and a service ace.
Defensively, the Spartans had five players record 10 or more digs, led by Smevog's 20. Mamie Garard added 12 digs and recorded her sixth double-double of the season with a carwer-high 53 assists. Lewis added 10 digs to go with her six kills and a team-best three service aces.
The Spartans take a two-match winning streak to Air Force Thursday night for a match beginning at 6:30 p.m. MT/5:30 p.m. PT.
San José State def. Nevada 3-2 (19-25, 25-19, 13-25, 25-18, 16-14).
Kills – NEV – Kayla Afoa 14; SJSU – Haylee Nelson 24.
Records – Nevada 15-9, 6-7; San José State 9-15, 4-9.
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