Sept. 15, 2016
USD/SDSU InvitationalSeptember 16-17Hosted by University of San Diego & San Diego StateSan Diego, Calif.Schedule at USDFriday, September 161:00 p.m. - Long Beach State vs. San José State4:30 p.m. - San José State vs. Cal State Fullerton7:00 p.m. - Long Beach State vs. San DiegoSaturday, September 1710:00 a.m. - Cal State Fullerton vs. San Diego1:30 p.m. - San José State vs. UC Santa Barbara7:00 p.m. - UC Santa Barbara vs. San DiegoLive stats - www.sjsuspartans.com & www.usdtoreros.comLive video - Links available at www.usdtoreros.com &San José State schedule page on www.sjsuspartans.com
VOLLEYBALL HEADING SOUTH ON I-5: The San José State volleyball team heads to Southern California this weekend for the USD/SDSU Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Spartans will play three matches at the University of San Diego's Jenny Craig Pavilion against Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara.
LIVE STATS: Live stat links for the matches are available on the San José State website at www.SJSUSpartans.com.
LIVE VIDEO: Live video is available for all three matches. Links can be found on the Spartan volleyball schedule page on www.sjsuspartans.com and at www.usdtoreros.com.
ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE: The 49ers enter the weekend with a 5-5 overall record after falling to UCLA , 3-1, Wednesday night. Brian Gimmillaro is in his 32nd season at Long Beach State. Nele Barber, the AVCA National Player of the Week, leads the team with 145 kills, 3.72 per set.
Long Beach State leads the overall series, 22-8-2. The two teams last played each other in 2002 with the 49ers winning 3-0. The Spartans last win in the series was 3-2 in a home match in 1990.
ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON: The Titans enter the tournament with a 5-6 overall record. The team is coached by Ashley Preston who is in her second season. Shimen Fayad leads the team with 145 kills, 3.72 ps, and digs at 3.31 ps.
The Spartans have a 22-4 lead in the overall series, but the Titans have won the past two meetings, 3-1 (2005), and 3-0 (2004). The Spartans last won in the series in 1998.
ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA: The Gauchos begin the weekend with an 8-2 overall record. The team is coached by Nicole Lantagne Welch who is in her fourth season. Lindsey Ruddins leads the team with 158 kills, 4.51 ps.
The Gauchos hold a 21-6 overall series lead.
HEAD COACH Jolene Shepardson: San José State head coach Jolene Shepardson is in her third season at the helm of the program. She has a 23-46 record in three seasons at SJSU, and a 66-93 coaching record in six seasons.
REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: This weekend could be considered a throw-back weekend for the Spartans. San José State faces three teams from its days in the Big West Conference and Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The Spartans left the Big West to join the Western Athletic Conference in 1996, and left the WAC to join the Mountain West in 2013.
GÃVIO KILLS MOVE HER INTO SJSU HISTORY: Giulia Gávio recorded a career-best 32 kills against Southern Utah on September 2, and moved herself into the Spartan record books. She is just one of five Spartan players to record 32 kills in a match. The 32 kills are the third-highest total number of kills in match in San José State history.
Top Kill Performances in San José State History
38 Paola Paz-Soldan, at BYU, 9/10/94
33 Paola Paz-Soldan, vs. Pacific, 10/17/95
Dawnis Wilson, at New Mexico, 10/5/90
32 Giulia Gávio, vs. Southern Utah, 9/2/16
Joslynn Gallop, vs. Boise State, 9/8/00
Dawnis Wilson, at Santa Clara, 10/15/91
Betsy Welsh, vs. UC Irvine, 10/14/90
Linda Fournet, vs. Oregon State, 11/11/83
KEEP THE BLOCKS COMING: Freshman Thaliana Grajeda is making her mark on the San Jose State blocking lists after her performance against Southern Utah. She recorded 11 blocks assists in the match to become the ninth player in school history to accomplish the feat.
Spartans With 11 Blocks In a Match
11 Thaliana Grajeda (11a), vs. Southern Utah, 9/2/16
Niki Clement (3s,8a), vs. Fresno State, 11/10/05
Joslynn Gallop (5s6a) vs. UTEP, 11/10/00
Cristin Rossman (2s9a), vs. American, 12/2/94
Cristin Rossman (4s7a), vs. Colorado State, 9/12/92
Heather McPherson (2s9a), vs. Long Beach St., 10/12/90
Leslie Page (4s7a), vs. New Mexico St., 9/30/91
Kim Hicks (1s10a), vs. San Diego St., 9/19/87
Christa Cook (11a), vs. Pacific, 10/2/84
Mandy McMahon (9s2a), vs. Utah St., 9/12/83
ANDRADE JOINS THE 30-DIG CLUB: Luiza Andrade joined the 30-dig club on September 3, when she recored 30 digs in a match at Utah Valley. She is the 13th Spartan in school history to record 30 or more digs in a match.
30 Luiza Andrade, vs. Utah Valley, 9/3/16
Yavianliz Rosado, vs. Wyoming, 10/15/15
Kristal Tsukano, vs. Idaho, 10/27/07
Jessie Shull, vs. Portland, 9/10/05
Jessie Shull, vs. Washington State, 9/4/04
GAVIO PUTS UP BIG NUMBERS AT WOLVERINE INVITATIONAL: Giulia Gávio was one of the team's top contributors at the Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 2-3). She averaged 5.38 kills, 3.62 digs and 0.62 aces per set. Gávio recorded a double-double in all three matches including a career-best 32 kills against Southern Utah. She had five service aces against North Texas and led the team in kills in all three matches.
ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS: Six Spartan players have received all-tournament recognition this year. At the Spartan Invitational, Thelma Grétarsdottir was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while Summer Avery and Luiza Andrade received all-tournament honors. Giulia Gávio was selected to the Wolverine Invitational All-Tournament team after recording a double-double in all three matches played and averaging 5.38 kills and 3.62 digs ps. Nandyala Gama and Breann Robinson were named to the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup All-Tournament team.
UP NEXT: The Spartans open the Mountain West schedule with road matches at Wyoming on September 22, and at Colorado State on September 24.