By Keanu Haghighi (@KeanuHaghighi):
It was business as usual for San Jose State women’s volleyball as it won its opening game of the Drake Invitational 3-1 against the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The victory marks the Spartans third straight win and improves their record to 5-1-0 on the season.
In the first set, the Spartans took a 14-10 lead, but the Mavericks were able to inch back to make it 15-14. Five straight Spartan points then gave them a comfortable 20-14 lead and they never looked back, taking the first set 25-16.
The second frame was much tighter as the Mavericks and Spartans were trading points on serves for a majority of the set. The Spartans were able to defend three set points, but a kill by sophomore outside hitter Jessica Gdowski won the Mavericks the set, 28-26.
After dropping the second set, the Spartans came out firing on all cylinders in the third go-around as they jumped out to a 7-1 lead. The early lead in the third set was insurmountable for the Mavericks as the Spartans won comfortably, 25-16.
At this point in the match, the Spartans were in cruise control as they took another big lead in the fourth set. They eventually won what would be the final set, 25-15.
Junior outside hitter Giulia Gavilo led the Spartans with 19 points and 17 kills while senior setter Breann Robinson had a match-high 45 assists.
The Spartans will try to stay hot and keep their winning streak alive as they are set to face tournament host Drake University at 5 p.m. on ESPN3.