Aidan Bostic (@bostic_aidan) – Spear Reporter
San Jose State volleyball (14-4, 8-0 MW) defeated Air Force (8-12, 0-8 MW) 3-0 to remain undefeated in conference play.
The Spartans are coming off a dominant 3-0 victory against New Mexico and they won in the same fashion against an Air Force team that is still struggling to get its first conference win.
SJSU volleyball came out of the gate aggressively, with some exclamatory kills from senior outside hitter Amethyst Harper. Seven of Harper’s kills came in the first set alone.
The Spartans jumped out to an early seven-point lead, but Air Force narrowed the margin to two points at 22-20. The Spartans quickly recovered during a timeout and went on to win the set 25-20.
In the second set, SJSU volleyball jumped out to a 10-1 lead behind more phenomenal play from Harper. The Spartans went on to win the set 25-14, on none other than a Harper kill.
SJSU carried its momentum into the third and final set, winning 25-17. Air Force kept it close for the first half of the set to keep the Spartans on their toes, but it was to no avail against a hungry SJSU volleyball team.
Harper finished the game with 16 kills on .682% hitting. She also tacked on five digs of her own.
Redshirt sophomore Blaire Fleming tacked on eight kills of her own. Junior Jiana Lawson and fifth-year Haylee Nelson had seven kills each to push the Spartans to their eighth conference win of the season.
Reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week Sarah Smevog had 10 digs to lead the match and she continues to hold down the Spartans’ defense.
“Honestly, it’s just wanting to play for my teammates and wanting to be better for the program,” said Harper. “We all have a lot of love one another. There’s a lot of compassion, vulnerability and so having each other back is a big thing on the court.”
The Spartans are undefeated in conference play, and they are planning on staying that way through the remainder of the season.
“Our systems have a lot of room for creativity that Amethyst has learned to do really well,” said head coach Trent Kersten. “I think our goal is to have a really balanced offense. If anything we want to be a little more overloaded in the middle. I think that’s what makes us tough to defend, is that we’re really balanced.”
SJSU volleyball hosts Nevada on Tuesday, Oct. 18 in Yoshihiro Uchida Hall at 6 p.m.