Spartans Gain Experience in 3-1 Loss at Northern ColoradoSpartans Gain Experience in 3-1 Loss at Northern Colorado
Terrell Lloyd

Spartans Gain Experience in 3-1 Loss at Northern Colorado

GREELEY, Colo.—Amethyst Harper and Haylee Nelson led the Spartan hitting attack, but San José State hit just .156 in a 3-1 loss at Northern Colorado Thursday night at the Bank of Colorado Arena.
 
Harper led all hitters with 16 kills and hit .297 for the match (16-5-37). She added four digs and three blocks. Nelson added 15 kills, five digs, two aces and a solo block.
 

 
•Janne Kaniho made her first career start for the Spartans at setter. She finished the match with 42 assists, six digs and four service aces. She helped spur a 5-0 run in the second set with three service aces in those five points scored.
 
•Two other Spartans made their first appearance in a Spartan uniform Thursday night. Brooke Bryant played in the final two sets and recorded two kills on six attempts.  Madeline Boerstra also played in the final two sets and had two kills.
 
•Sarah Smevog had another strong defensive effort for the Spartans with 15 digs and added three assists.
 
•Ryann Thomison added seven kills and three blocks for SJSU.
 
Match Summary
Set 1 – Northern Colorado led from the first serve and never let the Spartans take the lead in the 25-21 win.
 
Set 2 – The Spartans trailed 20-18 in the set, but strong serving from Kaniho had SJSU taking a 23-20 lead. Kaniho recorded three service aces during that stretch, and Harper put away her 11th kill of the night to give San José State the 25-23 win.
 
Set 3 – Nelson scored the first point of the match, but that was the only lead the Spartans would have as the Bears won 25-14.
 
Set 4 – The Spartans took the early 8-4, but UNC came back to tie the set at 8-8. San José State then extended the lead back out to 13-9, forcing Northern Colorado to take a timeout. The two teams battled before UNC took a 16-15 lead and won the set 25-20.
 
San José State travels to Boulder for matches on Friday and Saturday at the Buffs Invitational. The Spartans play host Colorado Friday night at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT, and Texas Tech Saturday at noon MT/11 a.m. PT.
 
Northern Colorado def. San José State 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-14, 25-20)
Kills – SJSU – Amethyst Harper 16; UNC – Makenzie Harris 14.
Records – San José State 4-2; Northern Colorado 6-1.
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