By Taylor Lupetti (@tayclupetti):
The women’s volleyball team ended their first of two weeks at home with a sweep after defeating Air Force 3-1. While the win was a big feat for team, the loss of junior outside hitter Giulia Gavio in the second set shook the team.
“It’s always hard,” said junior libero Luiza Andrade. “Giu (Gavio) is such a great player for us who carries us on her back and now it’s our turn to carry her on our backs.”
After Gavio was escorted off the court, the Spartans played hard, crushing the second set 25-10 while not letting the loss of their friend and teammate affect their game.
After being swept last weekend against No. 21 Colorado State and University of Wyoming, the win against Air Force (10-13, 3-6 MW) gave San Jose State (14-7, 6-4 MW) the redemption it came home looking for.
The night started off slowly for the Spartans. They trailed early in the first half, but were able to rebound quickly and take the set 25-20.
“They just trusted themselves,” said head coach Jolene Shepardson. “They knew they could get in safe with running the offense and worked on cleaning up what needed fixing.”
It was in the third set that the Spartans relinquished the first and only win the Air Force would see of the night with a close 27-25 defeat. SJSU returned to the court in the fourth set and sent the Falcons home after fighting to win the match 25-23.
Despite the team facing a lot of injuries this season, the athletes have prepared themselves physically and mentally for moments like this.
“It’s a sport, it happens,” said sophomore outside hitter Fernanda Vido. “We are going to focus on keeping her (Gavio) positive. When we decided to become athletes we know that we are risking our bodies. It’s part of it.”
After being on the road for a majority of this season, the team is looking forward to playing another week in San Jose.
“We get a little bit of time here to sleep in our own beds,” Shepardson said. “We are going to relax, catch up on homework, it is honestly a huge blessing with big teams coming in next week.”
The Spartans will be back in Spartan Gym on Thursday, Oct. 26 to go up against Fresno State at 6 p.m. and again on Saturday, Oct. 28 to take on San Diego State at 2 p.m.