MATCHES 4, 5, 6
ShareSLO Mustang Challenge
San José State (1-2) vs. Wichita State (2-1)
Mott Athletics Center, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Thursday, September 5
4:00 p.m. PT
San José State (1-2) vs. North Texas (2-1)
Mott Athletics Center, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Friday, September 6
4:00 p.m. PT
San José State (1-2) at Cal Poly (0-3)
Mott Athletics Center, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Saturday, September 7
6:00 p.m. PT
Watch Live - http://bigwest.org/watch/?Live=2238
Tournament Page - https://www.gopoly.com/sports/wvball/2019-20/ShareSLO_Mustang_Challenge
Live stats - https://sjsuspartans.com/schedule.aspx?path=wvball
SPARTANS HEADED TO SAN LUIS OBISPO FOR THE WEEKEND: The San José State volleyball team travels south this week for th SharesSLO Mustang Challenge hosted by Cal Poly at the Mott Athletics Center. The Spartan will face Wichita State, North Texas and the Mustangs and look to continue a one-match winning streak after defeating Montana last Saturday, 3-0.
LIVE STATS: Live stat links for all matches are available on the San José State website at https://sjsuspartans.com/schedule.aspx?path=wvball.
LIVE VIDEO: The San José State-Cal Poly will be broadcast on BigWest.TV at http://bigwest.org/watch/?Live=2238. The other two matches will not have live coverage.
ABOUT WICHITA STATE: The Shockers begin the week with a 2-1 record after defeating Holy Cross (3-0) and Hoftstra (3-2) before falling at #8 Penn State (3-0). Head coach Chris Lamb is in his 20th season at the school.
Wichita State Leaders
Hit % .400 Damadj Johnson
Kills 25, 2.27 ps Megan Taflinger
Assists 53, 4.82 ps Kayc Litzau
Aces 5, 0.45 ps McKayla Wuensch
Digs 35, 3.18 ps Kara Bown
Blocks 12, 1.09 ps Emma Wright
Series Record - First meeting
First Meeting - First meeting
Last Meeting - N/A
Last SJSU Win - First meeting
Current Streak -N/A
Last 10 meetings - N/A
ABOUT NORTH TEXAS: The Mean Green opened the season by going 2-1 in the North Texas Invite last weekend, defeating Pepperdine (3-2) and Tulsa (3-1) but falling to Illinois State (3-1). Head coach Andrew Palileo is in his sixth year at the school.
North Texas Leaders
Hit % .431 Sarah Haeusler
Kills 44, 3.38 ps Valerie Valerian
Assists 115, 8.85 ps Kaleigh Skopal
Ace 2, 0.15 ps Valeri Valerian
Digs 34, 3.09 ps Jordan Burks
Blocks 18, 1.38 ps Alysha Johnson
Series Record - San José State leads 1-0.
First Meeting - W, 3-1, September 3, 2016, Orem, Utah
Last Meeting - W, 3-1, September 3, 2016, Orem, Utah
Last SJSU Win - W, 3-1, September 3, 2016, Orem, Utah
Current Streak - W1
Last 5 meetings - N/A
2016 meeting: The Spartans needed four sets to defeat North Texas at the Wolverine Invitational hosted by Utah Valley. The Spartans recorded 14 blocks in the match, led by Thaliana Grajeda who had six.
ABOUT CAL POLY: The Mustangs enter the weekend with an 0-3 record after losing to #7 Kentucky (0-3), Saint Mary's (0-3) and at Utah (2-3). Head coach Caroline Walters is in her first year at the helm of the program and 11th year with the program.
Cal Poly Leaders
Hit % .340 Madilyn Mercer
Kills 32, 2.91 ps Maia Dvoracek
Assists 73, 6.64 ps Avalon DeNecochea
Aces 8, 0.73 ps Maia Dvoracek
Digs 34, 3.09 ps Mika Dickson
Blocks 16, 1.45 ps Meredith Phillips
Series Record - Tied at 18-18.
First Meeting - L, 2-0, September 26, 1980, Spartan Gym
Last Meeting - L, 3-1, August 28, 2015, Spartan Gym
Last SJSU Win - W, 3-0, November 26, 2004, The Event Center
Current Streak - L4
Last 10 meetings - 3-7
2015 meeting: The Spartans jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, winning the first set 25-22, before the Mustangs rebounded to win the match. Nandyala Gama had 12 kills, while Breann Robinson recorded a double-double with 38 assists and 11 digs.
FRESHMEN DEBUT: Two Spartans made their debut last weekend in a Spartan uniform. Tamuafa Tuinauvai played against UC Davis and Montana, accumulating seven kills and five blocks in those matches. Drae Fresenius played in three sets against Montana and led team with three service aces.
ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS: Two Spartans were named to the Aggie Invitational All-Tournament team. Thaliana Grajeda and Sarah Smevog were honored after their performances. Grajeda led the team in blocking for the weekend, while Smevog was the team leader in digs.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BEFORE?: Against Montana, the Spartan middle blockers had the exact hitting numbers. Thaliana Grajeda and Ryann Thomison each recorded nine kills on 13 attempts, did not have a hitting error and hit .692 for the match.
GRAJEDA NEARS SJSU CAREER BLOCKING LISTS: Senior Thaliana Grajeda enters the week on the heels of two San José State career blocking lists. Through her three-plus seasons, she has 258 block assists, just three shy of Alex Akana who is 10th at 261, and 277 career blocks, nine shy of Akana's 286 total in 10th place.
BLOCK ASSISTS TOTAL YEARS
1. Joslynn Gallop 391 1997-00
2. Melissa Myers 370 1995-98
3. Barbara Higgins 340 1984-87
4. Liz Hudson 337 2000-02
5. Nandyala Gama 325 2014-17
6. Cristin Rossman 291 1991-94
7. Stephanie Pascucci 287 1999-02
8. Colleen Burke 281 2005-08
9. Kim Hicks 279 1985-88
10. Alex Akana 261 2009-12
......Thaliana Grajeda 258 2016-C
TOTAL BLOCKS TOTAL YEARS
1. Joslynn Gallop 456 1997-00
2. Barbara Higgins 447 1984-87
3. Melissa Myers 445 1995-98
4. Nandyala Gama 366 2014-17
5. Liz Hudson 365 2000-02
6. Cristin Rossman 357 1991-94
7. Kim Hicks 324 1985-88
8. Stephanie Pascucci 314 1999-02
9. Colleen Burke 308 2005-08
10. Alex Akana 286 2009-12
......Thaliana Grajeda 277 2016-C
BACK-TO-BACK WINNING SEASONS: The Spartans are looking to make it three in row in winning seasons after recording winning records each of the past two years. The team was 17-12 in 2017 and 16-11 in 2018. The last time SJSU had at least three consecutive winning seasons was 1997-2001, all under former head coach Craig Choate.
Year Overall Pct Conf. Conference Finish
1997 17-14 .548 7-7 4th WAC Pacific Division
1998 21-12 .636 7-7 4th WAC Pacific Division
1999 25-6 .806 11-3 2nd WAC
2000 22-10 .688 13-3 2nd WAC
2001 25-8 .758 9-4 2nd WAC
UP NEXT: The Spartans return to the South Bay next week for three matches in the South Bay Battle including the home opener. The Spartans will travel to Santa Clara on Thursday the 12th for a 7 p.m. match. The next night, SJSU welcomes Northern Colorado to Spartan Gym for the home opener at 6 p.m. The Spartans then host Marist on Saturday the 14th at 2 p.m.