The San Diego State volleyball team began its two-game road trip with a win over San Jose State 3-0.
Back-to-back sweep wins have moved the Scarlet and Black to a 3-2 conference record and an overall record of 11-3. While the win will not put the Aztecs on top of the Spartans in the standings, it leaves SDSU in a good position to be a conference leader.
Opposite hitter Jasmine Davis led the team with 10 kills and Kat Cooper was behind Davis with seven kills. Setters Fatimah Hall and Andreas Campos were the duo for the night, generating 31 assists. It was also a big service ace night for the Aztecs generating 8 total aces with seven different players.
Middle blocker Shea Rubright led the defense with four blocks with Cooper behind with three. Freshman Gianna Bender led the team with nine digs. Cooper and Keira Herron also combined for 14 digs.
Errors haunted the Spartans throughout the night, and SDSU made sure to capitalize. The Spartans had 21 attack errors and 10 service errors of the night. Generating offense also became a problem for the Spartans as the team was held to a .098 hitting percentage.
Both teams exchanged shots early, leading to a tied game 12-12. The Aztecs gained momentum after going on a 5-1 run to take their first major advantage of the set 17-13.
The Spartans charged their way back to get a point behind the Aztecs 20-19. However, SDSU made its way to set point after four unanswered points, and a kill by Davis closed the set 25-21.
The Aztecs tallied 16 kills in the set, most in the match. Davis and Cooper accounted for nine of those kills with Davis collecting half of her kills.
Four unanswered points to start the second gave SDSU early momentum. The Spartans managed to keep their deficit to four. However, all momentum shifted to the Aztecs after a 9-3 run, but the Spartans answered back with a 6-2 run with a set point of the line. The momentum from the Spartans came to a halt after an attack error by the Spartans closed the set 25-18
San Jose’s errors in the second kept the team from coming back from the deficit. In the second set alone, the Spartans had 10 attack errors and four service errors.
The Spartans got back on track in the third set reaching double-digits first 10-9. The set remained tight until SDSU created a three-point advantage of 18-15. SDSU went on a 7-4 run, including five unanswered points to close the game 25-19.
SDSU and San Jose were split 1-1 last season with the Spartans winning its previous meeting with SDSU 3-1. The Spartans are currently on a two-game losing streak after the Rams also swept the team to break their undefeated record. The Scarlet and Black will meet the Spartans at home next month on Nov. 9.
SDSU will begin its journey back south to San Diego, but the team will first make a stop at Fresno State this Saturday at noon before heading back home.
