By Andrew Hartley (@andrewhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
Jada Hall (left) and Jaida Ward (right) share a moment together after concluding the Sand Jose Invitational with a victory on March 17, 2024. I Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
The inagural Sand Jose Invitational was held March 16-17 and featured six colleges at Spartan Beach. San Jose State beach volleyball(6-7, 0-1 SLC) won two matches, lost two matches and competed in an exhibition match.
These five matches are the most SJSU has played and will play in a single weekend this season.
“It was wonderful for the team and the community to get a look at what we’re bringing to San Jose,” SJSU head coach Gary Hodge said.
The only pairing to take three wins in the tournament were Jaida Ward and Jada Hall. They were the only pair to defeat Corpus Christi Saturday and continue to be the team’s number one pair.
“They are special, they’re our warriors,” Hodge said. They also defeated Saint Mary’s Sunday morning making them the only SJSU pair to defeat two teams in tournament play.
A newer pair of Meredith Scott and Siena Brewster continued to gain momentum this weekend. It’s still their first season playing as partners and they gained five more matches of experience together. They also contributed a valuable point in the Saint Mary’s match that would ultimately give San Jose State a victory.
Shirley Morrison and Anna Salmon were reunited as partners during the tournament and also picked up valuable wins. This was the third point San Jose State needed to clinch the Saint Mary’s victory. Tessa Rogers has acted as Morrison’s partner but Hodge still has much to decipher in a long season.
“The thing about beach volleyball is we’re essentially five different teams. And having them all figure it out on the same day at the same time is quite a challenge,” Hodge said.
Every pairing for SJSU was victorious in the exhibition against Sierra College but also lost to Pac-12 opponent Utah. It is now 4-2 in its last six matches.
San Jose State is beginning to gain momentum at the right time of the season. It will have one more tournament that includes six games through March 22-24. Taking place in New Orleans, La., it will be the largest tournament of the season.