By Estevan Vargas (@estevan_va) – Spear Reporter | The Spartans celebrate together after winning the match (Photo by Shahd Suliman – Spear Photographer)
San Jose State women’s volleyball (7–9, 2–3 MW) bounced back in a big way on Thursday night, taking down the Nevada Wolf Pack (4–11, 0–5 MW) in four sets to earn its second Mountain West Conference victory of the season.
The opening set saw the Spartans come out strong, trading points with Nevada early on. However, nine costly errors proved to be too much to overcome, and the Wolf Pack capitalized to take the first set 25–19. Despite the early stumble, SJSU showed signs of rhythm and energy that would carry into the rest of the match.
In the second set, the Spartans regrouped and battled in a tight frame that went down to the wire. Behind an aggressive offensive attack, SJSU racked up 20 kills, nearly doubling Nevada’s 11.
Led by standout performances from redshirt junior Lolo Fonua and freshman Morgan Graves, who notched seven kills apiece. The late push sealed a 25–23 win and shifted the momentum firmly in SJSU’s favor.
The Spartans carried that momentum into the third set, where junior Fatimah Hall took charge. Hall delivered in clutch moments, recording the team’s final three kills to close out another tight 25–23 victory.
SJSU never looked back in the fourth and final set, maintaining control from start to finish. The Spartans led beginning to end and finished strong with a 25–19 win, closing out the match 3–1.
Hall led the team with an impressive all-around performance, tallying a season-high 11 kills, 27 assists, and 10 digs, marking her 14th career triple-double.
SJSU head coach Todd Kress acknowledged the team’s early struggles but praised their resilience. “The first set was a lot of disconnect… don’t know exactly where we were mentally,” Kress said. “Proud of the team for being able to finish sets two, three and four.”
With the win, the Spartans snap a three-game road skid and regain momentum heading into their next matchup. The Spartans will look to keep their spark alive when they face Air Force on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. at the Spartan Gym in San Jose, Cali.
