By Taylor Lupetti (@tayclupetti):
The energy was high at Spartan Gym as the San Jose State women’s volleyball team opened its season with a win against Pepperdine University.
It had been 23 years since the Spartans had taken the court against the Waves.In the back and forth five set match, SJSU secured the win in the fifth 18-16.
After going into the match-deciding set, San Jose State won the back and fifth set on a close match point call causing Pepperdine head coach Scott Wong to jump out of his seat to argue his team’s loss.
“It’s tough,” said SJSU head coach Jolene Shepardson. “They couldn’t see it from that angle but it’s hard, you have to fight for your team, I definitely fought for ours tonight too.”
The camaraderie the team shares off the court carried onto the court last night.
“When you see your teammates out on the court doing your best,” said outside hitter Giulia Gavio. “It is impossible not to do your best.”
Shepardson felt the love from the sidelines as well and contributed the successful night to the chemistry her team has formed in training and preseason.
“Our team plays strong together,” Shepardson said. “They care a great deal about each other and they play hard for each other and I think you could see that in our team chemistry tonight.”
The atmosphere around Spartan Gym was as positive as the players on the court while the large support system fed the energy of the team.
“It was really motivating for us to be in this environment and to have this team fight the way we did,” said setter Mariana Mantellato. “At every point of the game we were playing hard and it was a good start to the season.”
The San Jose State Spartans are scheduled to play the University of San Francisco Dons tonight at 7 P.M.