Sept. 5, 2018
MATCHES 4, 5, 6
Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic
San José State at Northern Colorado
Bank of Colorado Arena, Greeley, Colo.
Friday, September 7
12:00 p.m. MT/11:00 a.m. PT
Pluto TV - Channel 241
San José State vs Alabama State
Bank of Colorado Arena, Greeley, Colo.
Friday, September 7
5:00 p.m. MT/4:00 p.m. PT
San José State vs Pacific
Bank of Colorado Arena, Greeley, Colo.
Saturday, September 8
10:00 a.m. MT/9:00 a.m. PT
Live stats - www.sjsuspartans.com
SPARTANS BACK IN ACTION ON THE ROAD: The San José State volleyball team returns to the court this week at the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic in Greeley, Colo.. The team starts the tournament with host Northern Colorado and Alabama State on Friday, September 7, followed by Pacific on Saturday, September 8.
The Spartans enter the tournament with a 1-2 record after opening the season at the USF (South Florida) Invitational on August 24 and 25. The Spartans fell to South Florida, 3-1, and Stony Brook, 3-0, before defeating Jacksonville, 3-0.
LIVE STATS: Live stat links for the matches are available on the San José State website at www.sjsuspartans.com.
LIVE VIDEO: Friday's match against Northern Colorado will be broadcast online on Pluto TV, channel 241.
ABOUT NORTHERN COLORADO: The Bears enter the weekend with a 2-4 overall record after going 1-2 last weekend at the South Dakota Classic. The team's wins this season came against Northeastern (3-0) and UNC Wilmington (3-1).
Series Record - First Meeting
First Meeting - September 7, 2018
Last Meeting - N/A
Last SJSU Win - N/A
Current Streak - First Meeting
Last 10 meetings - First Meeting
ABOUT ALABAMA STATE: The Hornets enter the week with a 3-5 overall record and after falling 3-0 to UAB Tuesday night. The teams wins came against North Carolina Central (3-2), Gardner-Webb (3-1) and South Carolina State (3-0).
Series Record - First meeting
First Meeting - September 7, 2018
Last Meeting - N/A
Last SJSU Win - N/A
Current Streak - First Meeting
Last 10 meetings - First Meeting
ABOUT PACIFIC: Despite being only 80 miles apart, the Spartans and Tigers travel to Colorado to face each other for the first time since the 2013 season. Pacific begins the weekend with a 3-3 overall record with victories over Texas-Arlington (3-2), San Diego State (3-2) and Lipscomb (3-1).
Series Record - Pacific leads 41-10
First Meeting -W, 3-1, October 14, 1977, Stockton, Calif.
Last Meeting - L, 3-0, September 14, 2013, Stockton, Calif.
Last SJSU Win - 3-1, September 15, 2011, Stockton, Calif.
Current Streak - L2
Last 10 meetings - 3-7
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 47-73 record in five seasons at SJSU, and a 90-120 coaching record in eight seasons.
NATIONAL RANKINGS (as of 9/3): Listed below are the Spartans among national leaders as a team and individually.
Team Rankings (Top 100)
Aces Per Set 54th, 1.70 ps
Individual Rankings (Top 100)
Hitting Percentage Haylee Nelson, 19th .450
Aces Per Set Luiza Andrade, 46th 0.50 ps
COLORADO TRIP #1 OF 3: The Spartans make three trips to the state of Colorado for the 2018 season. This weekend, the team plays in Greeley for the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic. San José State returns to the state for match against Colorado State in Fort Collins on September 22. 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 1,195 digs in her three-plus years in a Spartan uniform. Andrade needs 155 digs to catch Kristal Tsukano in third place at 1,350 digs, and 217 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.
MW PRESEASON POLL/PRESEASON TEAM: The Spartans are picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll after finishing the 2017 season with a 17-12 overall record and 9-9 MW mark. The team finished fifth in the standings, the best since joining the MW in 2013. Spartan libero Luiza Andrade who has been selected to the Mountain West Preseason Team, becoming the first Spartan to receive this honor in six years.
SUNSHINE STATE: The Spartans make 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).
San Jose State travels to Florida the second week of September for the Owls Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. The team plays North Florida and Florida Atlantic on the 14th, followed by South Dakota State on the 15th.
NELSON LEADING MW IN HITTING: Freshman Haylee Nelson has made an impact on the Spartan team and the Mountain West with her hitting. She is currently the conference's top hitter at .450. Nationally, Nelson ranks 19th in hitting percentage. She hit a season-high .556 in a win over Jacksonville (12-2-18) and .364 against Stony Brook (11-3-22).
UP NEXT: San José State will travel to Boca Raton, Fla., for the Owls Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic next weekend.