Brendan Cross contributed reporting to this article
The San Jose State women’s volleyball team dropped its last two games of the season on Thursday and Saturday night, losing 3-2 in sets to No. 11 Colorado State University and 3-0 to the University of Wyoming.
The Spartans’ (10-19, 5-13 MWC) first match of the weekend was against the Rams (28-1, 18-0 MWC) Thursday night where SJSU lost in five sets.
The Rams came in undefeated in conference play, riding a 26-game winning streak.
Although Colorado State had a lot of success during the season, SJSU head coach Jolene Shepardson had high hopes for the matchup.
“We beat them in the past,” Shepardson said. “The last two times they’ve been here we’ve beat them in five, so I think they were already a bit nervous and on their heels. And it allowed us to come out and supply that pressure repeatedly.”
The Spartans came ready to upset Colorado State, starting out in the first set strong winning 25-18.
“The whole team was ready to go after them and not really caring if they are No. 11 or not,” senior outside hitter Fernanda Vido said.
The fast start by SJSU was followed by back-to-back set loses, though, with a 25-17 defeat in the second set and another loss in the third set 25-22.
The Spartans refused to give up and battled for a 25-17 win in the fourth set.
Freshman outside hitter Makalya Lewis shined throughout the matchup, putting up 13 kills and 16 digs in the match.
“I wanted them to serve me the ball,” Lewis said. “I just kept saying through the net, ‘Just serve me the ball, I’ll take it.’ I didn’t care, I was going to do whatever I had to do to get the pass.”
The final set was too much for the Spartans though, as they lost 15-11.
The loss did not discourage the senior players from looking forward to the final game of their SJSU careers.
“I honestly just want to have fun and build more memories with my team,” Vido said. “It’s my fifth year and I really love all my teammates and I want to play for them and finish on a high note.”
The Spartans had another tough test against Wyoming (21-8, 16-2 MWC), winners of seven games in a row.
SJSU held tough in two of the three sets, dropping the first 27-25 and the third 26-24, but ultimately fell short.
The loss didn’t derail the postgame festivities, however, as five seniors were honored after their last game donning the blue and gold.
Middle blocker Thaliana Grajeda, setter Kaitlynn Zdroik and Vido played in the game while outside hitter Caitlin Bettenay and middle blocker Laura Parts did not hit the court.
“There’s for sure a lot of emotions going on, especially being here for four years, it’s been a long ride,” Parts said. “Everything I got from here has been making me the person I am today.”
Vido said that her five years at SJSU went by quickly and that she’s proud of her team.
“Being a [Division I] student-athlete is definitely not easy,” Vido said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs and it’s amazing . . . the feeling of accomplishment that I feel and I’m sure a lot of the seniors feel.”
Shepardson said the day was bittersweet but that she and the team are looking forward to the next season, despite losing the seniors.
“I think we can knock some people down next year, but we gotta earn it,” Shepardson said. “We had a lot of good talent in the gym this year and we didn’t earn those matches so we have to come with the right attitude into next preseason.”
The Spartans finished the season ninth in the 11-team Mountain West Conference.
