By Christian Vieyra(@thecvieyra)– Spear Reporter| Photo by Clark Hwang | SJSU’s bench wears leis provided by freshman Mari Lawton’s family that is visiting from Hawaii.
After losing the first two sets 25-23 and 25-21 to Wyoming, SJSU rallied late in the third set to win 29-27 but ultimately fell in the fourth set 25-13.
Moments before the third set rally to win, the Spartans were down 22-21 and senior Jiana Lawson went down with an apparent ankle injury.
The Spartans’ injury bug has bitten even harder, adding Lawson to the injury list that includes eight players, notably starters junior Blaire Flemming and senior Letizia Cammilluccii.
The Spartan gym fell silent. Another key starter had gone down with an injury. She gingerly limped off the court with assistance and didn’t return to the match against the Cowgirls.
“They were determined to go out and prove a point,” SJSU head coach Todd Kress said. “Let’s go out and fight for [Lawson].”
The Spartans were able to prevail in the third set after a set-point kill by freshman Nayelli Ti’a.
The Spartans appeared out of sorts in the fourth set without Lawson. “We couldn’t figure out how to get in a rhythm,” junior Brooke Slusser said of the fourth set. “We’re kind of putting anyone anywhere.”
Lawson’s injury did not require a boot or crutches according to Kress. “I’m hoping that she’s able to get back out there this weekend,” Kress said.
“It was quite a scary moment because I’ve never really been injured,” Lawson said. “We acknowledge we’re not in the spot we want.”
The Spartans have now fallen to 12-15 and 3-11 in conference.
Kress added that he, “was a little disappointed from a defensive standpoint, in the way that we came out in sets one and two.”
The Spartans now have four games left, with their next two being on the road at Utah State and Boise State.
“We want to build momentum going into the 2024 season,” Kress said on the remaining matches.
The Spartans are now going to take a couple of days off according to Kress because they, “need to get healthy.”