By Chris Estrada (@estradadotc ):
San Jose State beach volleyball participated in the Stanford Invitational this weekend and won one of four matches.
The Spartans (4-6) took on Arizona State and No.18 Tulane on Friday and then faced Boise State and Cal Berkeley on Saturday.
In day one of the invite, SJSU had a tough time matching up with Arizona State, as they fell to the Sun Devils, 4-1. The Spartans lone point came in the first match when Nandyala Gama and Lyndi Scholl won in three sets after losing in the first set.
In spot four, sophomore Thaliana Grajeda and junior Luiza Andrade won their first set 21-19, but afterward, the Spartans fell silent.
In the second matchup, SJSU took on No.18 Tulane and put up a fight, but before chipping away, the damage was already done.
The Green Waves secured the win by topping the Spartans in the first three matches, but SJSU didn’t quit and won the final two matches.
In the final two matches, Grajeda and Andrade won their first set of match four 21-18. Falling short in the second set, the duo came back to win the third set 15-11.
Sophomore duo Laura Parts and Kaitlynn Zdroik won match five in similar fashion. After winning the first set 22-20 and a close 19-21 loss, they won the final set 15-11.
The Spartans came back on Saturday to take on Boise state in an early morning matchup.
SJSU was in full control winning 5-0 ending a five-match losing streak. Gama and Scholl started off with a 21-18 21-19 victory.
Teammates followed suit, winning the final four matches in two sets as well. In the second match, Juliana Golbeck and Clara Reistad had the biggest margin in their win of 21-13 21-16.
The second matchup of the day came against Cal. SJSU was blanked 5-0.
The Spartans couldn’t get their rhythm going as they were swept; not getting a single set victory.
Overall, the Bears took over the tournament going 4-0 for the weekend. SJSU faced Cal last week but were victims of a 4-1 loss. SJSU now looks to get back in the win column.
Next up for the Spartans is a matchup in Saratoga against the University of Portland Monday at 2 p.m.
