San Jose State’s volleyball team ignited fans at its home opener Thursday as it sweeped Sacramento State on sets in a 3-0 victory.
This marked the Spartan’s first home game in Yoshihiro Uchida Hall since March 27, 2021.
SJSU finished the game with a nail biting 25-23 set win in front of 520 fans in the stands, according to the box score statistics.
However, the Spartans struggled on offense to begin the game, specifically getting sophomore setter Mia Schafer a perfect pass.
SJSU was down 7-4 early on, but after some adjustments and more communication Sacramento State’s lead didn’t last long.
“Our passing and our defense was absolutely lights out,” Schafer said after the match. “It was amazing to see because that was a big focus this week.”
As the team settled down offensively, Schafer in turn was able to set up her teammates all night long finishing the game with 33 assists.
With help from eight Hornet hitting errors, the Spartans suddenly drove up the score to 19-9 in Set 1.
Spartan junior middle blocker Yazmin Pitpit capitalized on Schafer’s passes by spiking balls through the Hornet’s block and served up the final 3 points of Set 1.
Brimming with confidence from a dominant Set 1, SJSU never trailed in Set 2 and won 25-17.
The Spartans took advantage of the Hornets’ poor communication and inability to recover from bad digs.
Although offensive errors gifted the Hornets points, the Spartans defense refused to waiver as Schafer continued to set up hitters Pitpit and Cammilluci.
More SJSU errors kept the game close at 20-16 in Set 2, but Sacramento State dug its own grave with a string of attacking errors that led to the set loss.
Head coach Trent Kersten attributed the team’s scrappiness as a major key in the win.
“We want to be that blue collar team. That’s ingrained in our culture here at [SJSU],” Kersten said. “We can dig a lot of balls and we’re going to be relentless on the defensive side.”
The Hornets posed the biggest threat during Set 3, testing Spartans libero Sarah Smevog.
With 17 digs on the night, Smevog batted away the Hornets’ attempts to comeback in the game.
The Spartans seemed to do their best work in the depths of chaos, tying it up at 15-15 in Set 3 after some scrappy plays.
Smevog said the energy from the crowd fed the players’ drive to win in the midst of all the mayhem.
“It can be tough coming into the third set when you’re up two,” Smevog said. “What kept us in it was the fans staying in there with us and us coming together as a group.”
With the help of some strategic skills from senior opposite hitter Haylee Nelson, Harper dealt the killing blow to the Hornets at 25-23.
The final point ignited the hall with fans’ screams and applause, sparking hopes for a winning season.
Harper finished with a season-best 18 kills on the night, doubling the highest Hornets’ scorer.
The win electrified many students in attendance including business junior Greyson Passey.
“I could feel the electricity throughout the whole student section. I’m feeling really good about our volleyball team,” Passey said. “We just got back on campus and we just got a win. I feel like it’s rejuvenating.”
The Spartans next home game is planned for Sept. 16 against the University of San Francisco.
While the next home game is in two weeks, Kersten said the team will work on perfecting its offense to get ready for the next match.
“Coming away with a win is great,” Kersten said. “But now we [have] another great team to go [prepare] for.”
