Sept. 12, 2017
SCU/SJSU TournamentLeavey Center, Santa ClaraSpartan Gym, San JoseSeptember 15-16Friday, September 1511:00 a.m. - Idaho at Santa Clara1:00 p.m. - #9 Kansas vs. San José State (at Santa Clara)7:00 p.m. - #9 Kansas at Santa Clara7:00 p.m. - Idaho at San José State (Spartan Gym)Saturday, September 1611:00 a.m. - #9 Kansas vs. Idaho (at Santa Clara)7:00 p.m. - Santa Clara at San José State (at Spartan Gym)Live stats & video - Links available onSan José State schedule page on www.sjsuspartans.com
VOLLEYBALL BACK IN THE SOUTH BAY THIS WEEKEND: The San José State volleyball team returns to the South Bay for the final three non-conference matches of the 2017 season as the team co-hosts the SCU/SJSU Tournament with Santa Clara. The Spartans travel to Santa Clara on Friday to face #9 Kansas at 1 p.m., before returning to Spartan Gym later that night for a match-up with Idaho. On Saturday, the Spartans face off against Santa Clara at home for the first time since the 2008 season.
The Spartans enter the tournament with a 7-1 overall record and a five-match winning streak. The team went 3-0 last weekend to win the Drake Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa, defeating Omaha (3-1), Drake (3-2) and Montana. This is one of the best starts in recent years as last year's team started 6-2, the 2006 and 2004 teams were 7-2, and the 2001 team was 11-2. The 1999 team had the best start in school history when the team started the season 18-1 and finished 25-6.
LIVE STATS: Live stat links for the matches are available on the San José State website at www.SJSUSpartans.com.
LIVE VIDEO: The San José State-Santa Clara match will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network with Jess Knaster on the call. There will be no video feed for the San José State-Idaho match.
ABOUT #9 KANSAS: The Jayhawks begin the week with a 9-1 overall record and started the season with nine consecutive matches before being swept by #9 Creighton. Head coach Ray Bechard is in his 20th year at the helm of the Kansas program. Kelsie Payne leads the team in kills with 165, 4.58 per set, while Zoe Hill has a team-best 33 blocks, 1.06 ps.
Series Record - San José State leads 1-0.
First Meeting - W, 3-1, October 9, 1982, Oklahoma Sooner Invitational
Last Meeting - W, 3-1, October 9, 1982, Oklahoma Sooner Invitational
Last SJSU Win - 3-1, October 9, 1982, Oklahoma Sooner Invitational
Current Streak - W, 1-0
ABOUT IDAHO: The Vandals enter the tournament with a 4-4 record and went 3-0 at the Grand Canyon Tournament last weekend with wins over Gonzaga, Fordham and Grand Canyon. Head coach Debbie Buchanan is in her 18th season at the helm of the Vandal program. Kaela Straw leads the team with 91 kills, 3.37 ps. Torrin Crawford has a team-best 36 blocks, 1.33 ps.
Series Record - Idaho leads 10-8.
First Meeting - W, 3-0, 1995
Last Meeting - L, 3-1, October 20, 2012, Moscow, Idaho
Last SJSU Win - 3-0, September 20, 2012, Spartan Gym
Current Streak - Lost 1
Last 10 matches: 3-7
ABOUT SANTA CLARA: The Broncos begin the week with a 5-4 record and have a two-match winning streak after wins over Portland State (3-0) and UC Davis (3-0). Head coach Jon Wallace is in his 19th year at the helm of the Bronco program. Michelle Gajdka leas the team with 104 kills, 3.25 ps, while Tatiana San Juan is the team leader in digs with 3.84. Taylor Odom leads the team with 30 blocks, 0.97 ps.
Series Record - SJSU leads 28-14.
First Meeting - W, 3-0, October 17, 1977
Last Meeting - L, 3-1, Spartan Gym, October 21, 2008
Last SJSU Win - 3-2, November 30, 2001, NCAA Tournament First Round, Palo Alto, Calif.
Current Streak - Lost 7
Last 10 matches: 2-8
HEAD COACH Jolene Shepardson: San José State head coach Jolene Shepardson is in her fourth season at the helm of the program. She has a 36-62 record in four seasons at SJSU, and a 79-109 coaching record in seven seasons.
DRAKE INVITATIONAL CHAMPS!: With a 3-0 record last weekend, the Spartans claimed the Drake Invitational title. The Spartans defeated Omaha, Drake and Montana to capture the trophy.
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: The Spartans received two honors at the Drake Invitational. Luiza Andrade was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player, while Breann Robinson was named to the All-Tournament team.
LONGEST MATCH EVER!: With the 3-2 win at Drake on September 8, San José State broke the school record for the longest match, time wise, as the match went two hours and 58 minutes. The old record was two hours and 50 minutes, in matches against Cal Poly in 1983 and versus Stanford in 1986.
UP NEXT: The Spartans begin Mountain West play next week with two road matches. The team travels up Interstate 80 to open MW play at Nevada on Tuesday, September 19. Match time is 6:30 p.m., and the match will be show on Stadium, a new multi-platform sports network. San José State then travels to Air Force for match on Saturday, September 23 at 1 p.m. MT, 12 p.m. PT.