By Cesar Maya (@cesarmaya.02) – Spear Reporter – Sophomore outside hitter Morgan Graves raises the ball during a match at Spartan Gym on Sept. 18, 2026. (Photo by Cesar Maya – Spear photographer)
San Jose State women’s volleyball (5-5, 0-0 MW) lost 3-1 against Sacramento State (5-5, 0-0 MW) on Friday.
With a strong start and a first-set score of 25-23 from SJSU, the NorCal battle was further felt in the second as the teams tied 24-24, eventually losing the set to the Hornets, 26-24.
The next two sets followed in losses, with scores of 25-19 and 25-22.
“It was a bad loss,” SJSU head coach Todd Kress said. “[And Graves] was one of the players that did what they were supposed to.”
Sophomore outside hitter Morgan Graves led the team in hits that resulted in a closer match against the Hornets. She finished the match with 15 kills at .429 and only three errors.
Other players who led the team with multiple kills included redshirt senior right-side hitter Lolohea Fonua, junior middle blocker Learden Lee and senior outside hitter Naima Foster, with 10, 8 and 7 respectively.
These kills progressed the game to multiple lead changes, with a kill from Lee initially tying the match in the second set. This set was also a kill-count high for the Spartans, with 16 at .419.
The high began to lose its momentum as the team had only 11 kills in the third set at .310.
Although the fourth set improved the number of kills with 13, it was not enough to counter the Hornets’ predominance on the court, as there was only one lead change in its entirety.
Notable performances of the match also included redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Orian Drore leading the defense with 11 digs, junior setter Hanna Darvas having 23 assists and freshman defensive specialist Kylee Sells recording 3 of the team’s 7 aces.
SJSU will continue to compete in the Battle of Norcal as they play against the University of California, Berkeley, at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Spartan Gym.
