MATCHES 10 & 11
Wyoming (8-4, 0-0) at San José State
Spartan Gym, San Jose, Calif.
Thursday, September 20
6:00 p.m. PT
Mountain West Network
San José State at Colorado State (8-4, 0-0)
Moby Arena, Fort Collins, Colo.
Saturday, September 22
7:00 p.m. MT/6:00 p.m. PT
Mountain West Network
Live stats - www.sjsuspartans.com
Live video - Links available at www.sjsuspartans.com/videos
SPARTANS OPEN MOUNTAIN WEST PLAY, FIRST HOME MATCH OF 2018: The San José State volleyball team opens the 2018 Mountain West schedule this week with the team's first home match of the season. The Spartans play host to Wyoming on Thursday, September 20, at 6 p.m., inside Spartan Gym. The team then travels to Fort Collins for a Saturday night match at Colorado State.
The Spartans enter conference play with a 5-4 overall record after going 1-2 last weekend at the Owls Classic. The Spartans fell to North Florida (3-2) and Florida Atlantic (3-0) before sweeping South Dakota State (3-0). Fernanda Vido and Luiza Andrade were named to the all-tournament team.
LIVE STATS: Live stat links for the matches are available on the San José State website at www.sjsuspartans.com.
LIVE VIDEO: Both matches will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network. Jess Knaster provides the play-by-play for Thursday's match. Fans can access the video on the Spartan website at www.sjsuspartans.com/videos or on the "Stadium" app on iPhone under "Live Events."
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets to all San José State volleyball matches are available the day of the match. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger. For more information, please call the Spartan Athletics Ticket Office at (408) 924-SJTX (7589).
ABOUT WYOMING: The Cowgirls enter the match with an 8-4 overall record. The team lost three matches last week at the Cyclone Classic, falling to Iowa State (3-0), Syracuse (3-2) and Iowa (3-1). Head coach Chad Callihan is in his sixth season at the school with a 110-59 school record and 337-194 coaching record in 17 seasons. The Cowgirls led the MW in hitting (.268), kills (13.34 ps) and blocks (2.92 ps). Reed Copeland leads the conference in blocks with 79, 1.80 ps, and is hitting .352 for the season. Copeland and Emily Lewis each have 100 kills on the season to lead a very balanced hitting attack as five players have 88 or more kills this season.
Series Record - Wyoming leads 10-4.
First Meeting - W, 3-0, October 1, 1983, Berkeley, Calif.
Last Meeting - L, 3-0, November 9, 2017, Spartan Gym
Last SJSU Win - 3-2, October 1, 2015, Spartan Gym
Current Streak - L5
Last 10 meetings -1-9
ABOUT COLORADO STATE: The Rams enter the week with an 8-4 overall record and play at Nevada Thursday night before hosting the Spartans on Saturday. The team went 2-1 last week at the Colorado Classic, defeating Indiana State (3-0) and Portland State (3-0) before falling to Colorado (3-1). Head coach Tom Hilbert is in his 22nd year at the school with a 546-130 record. The Rams are hitting .248 as a team. Setter Katie Oleksak leads the MW in assists with 498, 11.32 ps, while Breanna Runnels is the team leader in kills with 166, 3.77 ps.
Series Record - Colorado State leads 13-6.
First Meeting -W, 3-1, September 20, 1984, Spartan Gym
Last Meeting - W, 3-2, November 11, 2017, Spartan Gym
Last SJSU Win - 3-2, November 11, 2017, Spartan Gym
Current Streak - W1
Last 10 meetings -3-7
At Moby Arena/Fort Collins - The Spartans have not won a match in Fort Collins or Moby Arena in the eight times the teams have played there. The closest SJSU came to winning was in 1987 when the Spartans lost 3-1.
HEAD COACH JOLENE SHEPARDSON: San José State head coach Jolene Shepardson is in her fifth season at the helm of the program. She has a 51-75 record in five seasons at SJSU, and a 94-122 coaching record in eight seasons. Shepardson is six wins away from 100 career coaching wins and recorded her 50th win at San José State with a 3-2 win over Pacific on September 8.
NATIONAL RANKINGS (as of 9/17): Listed below are the Spartans among national leaders as a team and individually.
Team Rankings (Top 100)
Kills Per Set 97th 13.13 kps
Individual Rankings (Top 100)
Hitting Percentage Haylee Nelson, 16th .419
Hitting Percentage Thaliana Grajeda, 37th .389
MOUNTAIN WEST OPENERS: Since joining the Mountain West in 2013, San Jose State is 1-4 in MW-opening matches. This is the first time since 2014 that the Spartans open the conference schedule at home. The team has been on the road the past three seasons.
2017 L, at Nevada 3-1
2016 L, at Wyoming 3-0
2015 W, at Fresno State 3-2
2014 L, vs. New Mexico 3-0
2013 L, vs. Boise State 3-2
NELSON LEADING MW IN HITTING: Freshman Haylee Nelson has made an immediate impact on the Spartan team and the Mountain West with her hitting. She is currently the conference's top hitter at .419. Nationally, Nelson ranks 16th in hitting percentage. She hit a season-high .556 in a win over Jacksonville (12-2-18), .545 versus Alabama State (7-1-11) and .529 versus Pacific (10-1-17).
SUNSHINE STATE: The Spartans made two trips to the state of Florida during the non-conference portion of the schedule. The team went to Tampa to start the season at the USF Invitational. The Spartans played South Florida (L, 3-1), Stony Brook (L, 3-0) and Jacksonville (W, 3-0). Last weekend, the team played at the Owls Classic, losing to North Florida (3-2) and Florida Atlantic (3-0) before winning over South Dakota State (3-0).
TOURNAMENT TITLE: The Spartans won the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic on September 7-8, after going 3-0 at the tournament. The team defeated host Northern Colorado (3-0), Alabama State (3-0) and Pacific (3-2).
COLORADO TRIPS: The Spartans make three trips to the state of Colorado for the 2018 season. The team won the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic in Greeley on September 7 and 8. San José State returns to the state for match against Colorado State in Fort Collins this Saturday. The Spartans final match in the state of Colorado for the season will be on Thursday, October 11, when the Spartans play at the United State Air Force Academy.
ANDRADE HOLDING STEADY AT #4: Senior libero Luiza Andrade is holding onto the fourth spot on the San José State career digs list. She begins the week with 1,292 digs in her three-plus years in a Spartan uniform. Andrade needs 58 digs to catch Kristal Tsukano in third place at 1,350 digs, and 120 digs to get to Dawnis Wilson in second place at 1,412 digs. Andrade is the eighth player in school history to record 1,000 digs in her career.
UP NEXT: San José State returns home for two matches next week - the 27th against Utah State at 6 p.m., and the 29th versus Boise State at noon. Both matches will be played at Spartan Gym, located on the corner of Fourth and San Carlos Streets.