Sept. 20, 2014
Chicago, Ill.-- Sara Hibbs helped lead the San José State volleyball team to its third win this weekend as the Spartans swept UMass Lowell 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-15) Saturday afternoon at the Chicago State Tournament. The Spartans fell earlier in the day to Grand Canyon 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-12).
Hibbs led all hitters with 13 kills in the win over the River Hawks. She hit .308 for the match with 26 attempts and only five hitting errors. Tyanna Roy added nine kills and two blocks, while Jessica Oneto and Nandyala Gama led the team with three blocks each.
Allison Meehan recorded 29 assists, while Yavnianliz Rosado had 17 digs and four assists. Jamie Hirai had seven digs and two aces, while McKenzie Palassou had five digs and a team-best three service aces.
The Spartans trailed for much of the first set before taking control at 17-16 on a Hibbs kill. She served for the final three points of the set and the 25-18 win. The next two sets found San José State taking control early for the 25-17 and 25-15 wins.
Saturday morning, San José State was swept by Grand Canyon as the team hit .020 for the match. Gama led the team with nine kills but hit .125. Meehan had 14 assists, and Palassou led the team with nine digs. The only Spartan lead was in the beginning of the second set. Otherwise, Grand Canyon led from the first serve in sets one and three.
"Our players responded well tonight (against UMass Lowell) after not performing well this morning (versus Grand Canyon). We came out better prepared and sustained that pressure," stated San José State head coach Jolene Shepardson.
The Spartans return home next week to open the Mountain West portion of the schedule. The team hosts New Mexico on Thursday, September 25, at 6 p.m., and Air Force on Saturday, September 27, at 1 p.m. Both matches will be played at Spartan Gym, located on the corner of Fourth and San Carlos Streets.
Chicago State Tournament
Chicago, Ill.
Grand Canyon def. San José State - 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-12).
Kills - GC - Megan Byrnes 13; Shannon Dugan 10.
SJSU - Nandyala Gama 9.
Records - Grand Canyon 10-3; San José State 2-10.
San José State def. UMass Lowell - 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-15)
Kills - SJSU - Sara Hibbs 13
UML - Ella Merrill 8.
Records - San José State 3-10; UMass Lowell 1-14
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