By Sandeep Chandok (@sandeepchandok):
Securing W’s has become the norm for the volleyball team as it swept Montana 3-0 on Saturday morning and picked up its fifth-straight win this season.
A 6-0 spark by the Spartans to open the match provided them enough cushion to overwhelmingly win the first set, 25-15.
Junior outside hitter Giulia Gávio paced SJSU with nine kills in the first set while senior setter Breann Robinson had nine assists.
The second set went much like the first, as Gávio and the Spartans jumped out to an early 8-3 edge thanks to four-straight digs by junior libero Luiza Andrade that resulted in four SJSU points.
SJSU won the set 25-11 as six different Spartans recorded at least one kill.
Just one loss away from getting swept, Montana came out focused in the third set, going toe-to-toe with SJSU from the jump.
It was tied 8-8 when the Grizzlies then scored two points to take a 10-8 advantage. They held a two-point lead three times in the set with the highest moment coming at 14-12.
It was all Spartans from there, as they finished the set on a 13-5 run and whipped out the brooms on Montana.
Gávio finished the match with 19 kills and Robinson had 29 of the team’s 33 assists.
Andrade demonstrated some dazzling defense with 17 digs and senior middle back Nandyala Gama had four high-rising stuffs at the net.
The win over Montana also capped off an undefeated three-game stand at the Drake Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa.
SJSU is now 7-1 through eight games and will host Kansas, Idaho and Santa Clara next weekend.
Austin Badzik (@austinbadzik15) contributed to this story.