By Jenae Mims (@jenaemims_ ):
Never in San Jose State’s beach volleyball history has it defeated Saint Mary’s University, but that chance reappears Thursday as the Spartans (7-9) look to take down the No. 19 Gaels in Moraga.
After almost a two week break, the team will get back in the sand. Their last match against University of San Francisco was a 3-2 victory.
The No. 1 duo against San Francisco was graduate student Lyndi Scholl and senior Nandyala Gama who won in two sets. The pair lead the team with a 9-5 record.
Saint Mary’s recently participated in the Pepperdine Invitational Saturday where they were swept by No. 4 USC, No. 1 Pepperdine and No. 16 Loyola Marymount.
SJSU is currently on a two-match win streak and seeks to extend Saint Mary’s three-game losing streak.
Last season when the Spartans lost to the Gaels, their record was 5-7 and the Gaels 12-4, but things are much closer this go-around.
Saint Mary’s leading pairs are juniors Morgan Hughes and Payton Rund who lead their team with a 10-1 record. In the No. 2 spot are juniors Emily Bible and Lindsey Knudsen with a 9-2 record.
SJSU will be the second lowest ranked team after Santa Clara that the Gaels have left in their upcoming schedule.
With seven matches in the remaining two weeks of the season, the Spartans are as hungry as ever to knock off a ranked team.
First serve is at 3 p.m.