By Autumn Blue — Reporter
San Jose State’s women volleyball (3-1, 0-0 MW) defeated Sacramento State (2-2, 00 BS) 3-0 as they welcomed fans back to Spartan gym for the first time in 649 days Thursday evening.
The Spartans started their first set with a bit of nerves which led to the Hornets taking an early 4-0 lead.
SJSU did not let this discourage them and reciprocated the energy tieing the set at 7-7. Once the Spartans took the lead there was no going back.
They continued to score another six points leading the set 13-9.
The Hornets were trying their best but were not successfully making their plays against the Spartans.
Sacramento State came in strong but after going back and forth with SJSU their hype died. The Spartans starting lineup is a force to be reckoned with.
Their constant kills, aces, and blocks were enough to take the first match 25-13. The Spartans continued to lead during the second set.
Sacramento State continued to make mistakes, never gaining back their momentum from the first match.
Senior outside hitter Haylee Nelson had an amazing game with her consistently powerful kills which kept the Spartans leading 13-7 in the second set.
The fans were matching the Spartans energy with the continuous cheers in the stands. “They fed into us and we fed into them,” said Nelson on how the team is excited to have fans back.
SJSU continued to lead and eventually won the second set 25-17.
While going back and forth the Hornets would catch up to the Spartans tying the third set 9-9 then taking the lead not too far after.
The Spartans and Hornets continued to rally.
SJSU did not let themselves get too far behind before graduate student middle blocker Ryann Thomison, Nelson and Harper proceeded to bring the kills, continuing SJSU’s lead on the Hornets 19-17. Spartans continued to bring the heat, keeping the Hornets on their toes.
The game would keep going back and forth with Spartans staying in the lead. Harper will continue with her kills ultimately scoring the last 2 points of the night.
Spartans remained victorious after winning the third set 25-23 ending the match against Sacramento State.
Harper finished with a team high 18 kills and had a thrilling night in the first home game of the season. “I have everybody in my back row and my center to thank, I wouldn’t be able to do it without them for sure,” Harper said. “I have been working a lot on different shots personally, making sure I get my footwork into the positions makes me execute better.”
Head coach Trent Kersten spoke highly of his team’s performance. “We started to play a team game after the first 15 or so points, we were valuing each contact and taking care of the ball on our side of the net.” said Kersten.
SJSU plays its next game Friday, Sept. 3rd against Saint Mary’s in Moraga, Calif. The match begins at 6 p.m. and can be streamed online.