By Hannah Kacarka – Spear Reporter | Spartans huddle up after first set win against New Orleans ( Photo by Alex Guzman- Spear Photographer)
Zuzana Kosikova led the San Jose State women’s volleyball team to a sweep 3-0 over the LSU New Orleans Privateers in their match on Sunday during the SJSU invite.
The graduate student outside hitter led the match offensively, hitting .478% with 11 kills on 23 attacks, hitting above the team’s total of .450.
“We’ve been waiting for her to start playing better, so it was nice to see her get into a rhythm today,” SJSU head coach Todd Kress said. “Hopefully that carries into our next game and the rest of the season.”
The Spartans started the game off with an 8-0 run from the service line thanks to senior setter Fatimah Hall, who delivered a game total of 5 aces and contributed to the Privateers’ 13 reception errors.
The pressure from the service line caused out-of-system swings by the Privateers, allowing a fast transition play on the Spartans’ side of the net that ultimately resulted in points.
Another heavy swinger for the Spartans was sophomore outside hitter Tatiana Robinson, who delivered 8 kills on 14 attacks and had a .571 hitting percentage.
“She’s doing a really nice job at what we are asking her to do, which is get that elbow up and deliver shots over the top of the block and in between seams,” Kress said. “Every time she gets the ball, she either hits something aggressive or cerebral.”
The Spartans stayed organized and quick despite the scramble on the other side of the net, maintaining the pressure that kept the Privateers to a .189 hitting percentage.
“What I hope the team takes away from this match is that you put the pedal down, and you don’t let off; you stay confident every point that you play, and once you make an error, you reset quickly and are on to the next point,” Kress said. “This has been a challenge with this team this year, and we showed improvement over the weekend.”
This win comes after a 5-2 nail-biter against Portland State, where the Spartans pulled off the win despite challenges Thursday, Sept.3, and a 4-1 match versus Pacific on Friday, Sept 4.
“I’m not worried about the wins and losses; I’m worried about individual player and team improvements,” Kress said.
This win gives the Spartans a 4-2 record going into their next game versus Utah Tech at 3 p.m. Friday in Irvine, California.
