Belmont, Calif.—The wait is over for the start of the San José State University volleyball season as SJSU began play Wednesday morning against Boise State. After winning the first set over the Broncos, San José State fell to Boise State 3-1 at the Walter Gleason Gym on the Notre Dame de Namur campus in Belmont, Calif.
Haylee Nelson led the Spartan hitters with 15 kills on 40 attempts and one was dig shy of a double-double with nine. Latahevai Lousi added 12 kills and two blocks for SJSU. Sarah Smevog led the team with 19 digs.
Freshmen Allyson Alden and Mia Schafer made their Spartan debuts on Wednesday. Alden hit .375 for the match with 7 kills on 16 attempts and only one error and led the team in blocks with three assists. Schafer recorded 22 assists, two kills and digs in her debut.
Spartan head coach Trent Kersten also made his debut on the Spartan sideline and as a head coach. He was named the program's eighth head coach almost one year ago and finally saw his debut after the fall season was delayed due to COVID-19.
"This was fun to play during a pandemic and so great to play knowing what has to go right in order for us to compete – testing, facility, athletic training, support from our administration and assistant coaches. I am grateful to be here and coaching an amazing group of women. I am super proud of the team and excited for tomorrow's match," said Kersten
Set 1
The Spartans hit a blistering .407 to start the match and to win the set 25-16. The team led from the very first serve and the biggest lead of set coming with the final point on a Lousi kill, her fourth of the set.
Sets 2, 3, 4
The Spartans hit .111 over the final three sets. After having the lead the entire first set, San José State led just three times between sets two and three and did not lead in the fourth set.
The two teams will play again Friday at 1 p.m. The match will be the first contest on the San José State campus since the football team's game on Halloween. The volleyball team last match on campus was November 23, 2019, spanning 441 days or 14 months and 14 days between matches in Spartan Gym.
Fans can follow live stats at www.sjsustats.com and watch on the Mountain West Network.
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Boise State 3, San José State 1 (16-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20).
Kills – BS – Lauren Ohlinger 15, Kayly Pau 11, Jessica Donahue 10; SJSU – Haylee Nelson 15; Latahevai Lousi 12.
Records – Boise State 1-0, 1-0; San José State 0-1, 0-1.
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