By Austin Turner — Staff Writer
San Jose State (16-11, 10-7 MW) finished up the 2018 volleyball season on a four-match winning streak, which ended with a big win over one of its biggest rivals on Saturday.
The Spartans defeated San Diego State (10-21, 8-9 MW) in a thrilling five-set match to earn a season sweep on the Aztecs and finish the season placed fourth in the Mountain West Conference.
The game was about as close as it gets. After falling in the first set, the Spartans escaped the second 25-23 after a tightly played final few points.
The critical third set is where the game changed. After being tied at 20, the two teams traded points back-and-forth until the Spartans finally broke through to take it 28-26 on a huge kill from middle blocker Haylee Nelson.
SDSU escaped defeat with a 25-17 victory in the fourth, but they weren’t as luck in the fifth.
SJSU took the lead 13-7 on the first-to-15 final set, but the Aztecs stormed right back, winning 4 points in a row to come within 2.
However the Spartans fended off the furious comeback attempt and ended their season on a high note, winning the closing match of the season in five sets.
Nelson, the freshman phenom, led the way once again for the Spartans. She had 13 kills and 3 blocks. Junior middle blocker Thaliana Grajeda was right there too with 12 kills and 4 blocks.
The victory draws the Spartans season to an end. After starting MW play 1-5, they were able to right the ship for a solid 10-7 record and place in the top four of the competitive conference.
The young team is parting ways with only two seniors: libero Luiza Andrade and middle blocker Giulia Gavio – so expect the Spartans to be right back in the MW hunt next season.
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