San Jose State Hands #23 Colorado State First Conference Loss

MATCH NOTES

• San Jose State def. Colorado State 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-21, 15-11)
• San Jose State moves to 17-10 (9-7 MW); Colorado State drops to 25-3 (15-1 MW)
• San Jose, California
• Attendance: 287
• Box Score
• VolleyMob Top 25 Power Rankings (Week 12)

San Jose, Calif. – The San Jose State Spartans snapped the #23 Colorado State Rams 15-set win streak Saturday night in a five-set battle.

The Spartans were led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Fernanda Vido, who recorded 18 kills for a team-high and 10 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Thaliana Grajeda notched 13 kills, while the back row defense was led by junior Luiza Andrade with 23 digs and senior Jamie Hirai who added 20 digs.

For the Rams, freshman outside hitter Breana Runnels tallied 15 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Kirstie Hillyer contributed 13 kills and 6 blocks, while sophomore setter Katie Oleksak paced the offense with 51 assists, 8 digs, and 6 blocks.

In the opening set, the teams traded points to find themselves tied at 16-16. The Rams went on a 5-0 run to help propel them to a 25-20 victory. The Spartans rebounded in the second set for a 25-19 win, never letting the Rams take the lead.

With a .586 hitting percentage, Colorado State controlled play in the third set to win the frame 25-19. The Spartans again rebounded to take the fourth with a set point kill from Laura Parts to notch a 25-21 victory.

San Jose State managed to build a 12-8 lead in the fifth frame before Colorado State went on a 2-0 run to force a Spartan timeout. Out of the timeout, the Spartans sealed the match with kills from Breann Robinson, Nandyala Gama, and Vido for a 15-11 victory.

Next up, San Jose heads to Boise State next Wednesday, while Colorado State hosts Fresno State, also on Wednesday.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy of San Jose State Athletics

San Jose, Calif.–For the second consecutive year, the San José State volleyball team halted #19 Colorado State’s winning streak as the Spartans upset the Rams, 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-21, 15-11) Saturday afternoon in a Mountain West match at Spartan Gym.

The Spartans stopped Colorado State’s 15-match winning streak and 16-set winning streak and handed the Rams just their third loss of the season . San José State had not beaten a ranked opponent since a 3-2 win over #22 Santa Clara in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on November 30, 2001. Last season, the Spartans won 3-2 over the Rams in Spartan Gym including a similar 15-11 fifth-set score.

It took a total team effort as four Spartans recorded double-digit kills, three with double-digit digs and eight service aces. Fernanda Vido had a double-double in the match as she led all hitters with 18 kills and added 10 digs. Nandyala Gama had 15 kills, followed by Thaliana Grajeda with 13 kills and Laura Parts with 10.

Luiza Andrade and Jamie Hirai each recorded 20+ digs in the match as Andrade led everyone with 23 digs, her second consecutive 20+ dig match. Jamie Hirai tied her career high with 20 digs. Eight of the nine Spartans who played recorded at least one dig in the match.

Breann Robinson ran the offense as she collected 54 assists, seven digs, four kills and two solo blocks. She and Ryann Thomison led the Spartan blocking attack with three blocks each.

After falling 25-20 in the first set, the Spartans took control of the second set from the very first serve. The team led by as many as 10 points in the set (21-11) and won the set 25-19 on a Ram service error.

After the intermission, Colorado State four of the first seven points for a 4-3 lead and did not led San José State get any closer than four points at the end of the set (23-19) as the Rams on 25-19.

The fourth set was eerily similar to the second set as San José State took an early 6-5 lead and did not let the Rams take the lead again. Colorado tied the match at 18-18, but the Spartans scored seven of the final 10 points to win 25-21.

Despite Colorado State winning the serve for the fifth set, San Jose State got a kill from Parts to start the set and get the 1-0 lead. After the Rams tied the set at 2-2, the Spartans took control of set and match, never letting CSU get closer than two points as Vido put an exclamation on the upset with her 18th kill for the 15-11 win.

San José State is now 17-10 overall and 9-7 in the MW, while Colorado State falls to 25-3 overall and 15-1 in the MW. The Spartans play at Boise State on Wednesday, November 15, at 7:30 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. PT. The team then hosts the final regular season match on Saturday, November 18, against Utah State at 2 p.m. PT.

Courtesy of Colorado State Athletics

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The No. 19 Colorado State volleyball team fell on Saturday afternoon to San Jose State in Spartan Gym. Despite the Rams winning the first and third sets of the match, the Spartans defense halted the CSU attack in the final two sets to take a 3-2 victory. The loss marked the end of a 15-game winning streak which stretched back to the beginning of the Mountain West schedule.

Breana Runnels finished with a team high 15 kills, while Kirstie Hillyer and Paulina Hougaard-Jensen added 13 and 11, respectfully. Katie Oleksak dished out 51 assists to pace the offense and Amanda Young recorded 22 digs in the loss. Colorado State struggled offensively, hitting at a .269 clip on the night and recording 17 hitting errors. The Rams also faltered in their serving game, with 14 service errors. The defense also allowed the Spartans eight aces in the match.

Colorado State will return to Moby Arena on Wednesday for their final home conference match, hosting Fresno State at 7 p.m.