By Jenae Mims (@jenaemims_):
San Jose State beach volleyball is headed to the desert this weekend to open up the 2018 season where they will participate in the Cactus Classic in Tucson, Ariz.
Matches for the Spartans feature Abilene Christian, Benedictine Mesa and Arizona — all first-time opponents for SJSU since the sport was added in 2013.
Last season, the Spartans finished 7-10, which included a win over No. 18 UC Berkeley.
The key seniors the Spartans lost last season were Allison Meehan and Julie Sam.
Meehan and now-senior Lyndi Scholl worked as a pair throughout the 2017 season where they finished in the No. 1 spot for the Spartans with an 8-9 record.
In second was senior Nandyala Gama and Sam with a 5-11 record. Giulia Gávio and Luiza Andrade were 5-5 and finished in third place.
The Spartans will open things up with a doubleheader on Saturday vs. Abilene Christian.
ACU recently added beach volleyball to it’s athletics and will be making its first competitive appearance this weekend.
On Sunday, the Spartans will first go up against Benedictine University who went 1-11-1 in the 2017 season. For the last match, they will play Arizona who had an overall record of 15-8 last season.
With competition against a new team and a team who won once last season, the Spartans have a huge opportunity to come out on top this tournament.