San Jose State women’s volleyball swept Air Force in straight sets 3-0 on Saturday, breaking the team’s six game losing streak.
The win puts the Spartans at 6-11 on the season and was the team’s first conference win putting it at 1-5 in the Mountain West Conference.
Taking every set in this match was a big step for a struggling Spartan squad that could not seem to hold onto leads in the past few games.
“The players decided they were going to play big no matter what,” head coach Jolene Shepardson said. “We have had a lot of matches that we were up 2-0 and so this was a great opportunity for us to see if we can close against a great team.”
SJSU never looked back after a 25-17 victory in the first set, taking sets 2 and 3 with scores of 25-20 and 25-21, respectively.
The Spartan’s offense looked re-energized against Air Force, with redshirt senior outside hitter Fernanda Vido finding her groove.
“Vido was being more aggressive with her offense and seeing opportunities to score,” Shepardson said. “She just needed to remember [her potential], she’s always had it in her.”
Vido lit up the scorecard with 11 kills in the match.
She now has 40 kills on the season and said that her performance shows how much the team wants to get back on track.
“This win tells a lot about what we are doing behind the scenes,” Vido said. “Everyday we are working in the gym and in the weight room; we are close to
getting wins.”
Shepardson said she was pleased to see Vido find her step and hopes that she can keep things moving going forward to add another offensive threat to the mix.
“If we have a well distributed offense, we are going to be harder to beat,” Shepardson said.
Redshirt junior outside hitter Latahevai Lousi mirrored Vido’s performance, finishing with 11 kills as well.
Lousi said that it has not been the successful season that the team was hoping for, but an aggressive game showed her that the team might be ready to change its course for the rest of
the season.
“We are back to taking big risks and going for big swings on game points,” Lousi said.
Aside from a rediscovered offense, Shepardson said she saw how hard her defense was working to set up scoring plays.
Senior setter Kaitlynn Zdroik posted a double-double for the Spartans with 17 assists and 11 digs to cap off
the game.
“[The defense] has to be strong minded and aggressive in the lanes to get that pass to our setters,” Shepardson said.
SJSU will have a few days to prepare for a matchup against UNLV on Thursday.
The Spartans will have to come ready to compete against the Rebels that are on a four-game winning streak and 8-9 on the season.
