Spartans Play Three Matches At Hornet Invitational This WeekendSpartans Play Three Matches At Hornet Invitational This Weekend

Spartans Play Three Matches At Hornet Invitational This Weekend

The San José State volleyball team travels up Interstate 80 to the state capital as Sacramento State hosts the Hornet Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Spartans will play two matches on Friday against Portland and the Hornets and one on Saturday versus Cal State Fullerton. 

Tournament Central - links to ESPN+ and live stats

https://hornetsports.com/sports/2023/7/20/hornet-invitational-2023.aspx

SJSUTournament Schedule

Friday

  • 10:00 a.m. – San José State vs. Portland
  • 7:00 p.m. – San José State at Sacramento State

Saturday

  • 10 a.m. – San José State vs. Cal State Fullerton

San Jose State

  • The Spartans enter the weekend with a 2-1 record.
  • The team defeated CSUN (3-2) and Jacksonville (3-0) before falling to Santa Clara (0-3) last weekend inside Spartan Gym as part of the San José State/Santa Clara Invitational.
  • Nayeli Ti’a made an immediate impact on the court for SJSU had she led all hitters with 24 kills and had her first double-double with 11 digs to go with the 24 kills in a win over CSUN.
  • Blaire Fleming led the team with 15 kills in the win over Jacksonville and added nine kills in the loss to Santa Clara.
  • Setter Brooke Slusser had a productive weekend for the Spartans as she averaged 9.27 assists and 2.55 digs per set.
  • She recorded her first double-double in a Spartan uniform with 47 assists and 18 digs against CSUN.
  • Jiana Lawson leads the team in blocks at 1.09 per set, and had eight blocks in the win over CSUN. 

All-Tournament Team Honorees

  • Ti’a and Fleming were two of the players named to the San José State/Santa Clara Invitational All-Tournament team.

Spartan Head Coach Todd Kress

  • The Spartans welcome new head coach Todd Kress to the campus as he begins his first season at the helm of the program.
  • Came to San José State after two coaching stints at Fairfield University where he led the program to five NCAA Tournament appearances
  • In 28th year as a head coach with a 519-315 coaching record in 28 years
  • Currently 24th in the NCAA among active head volleyball coaches with 519 wins
  • Nine-time MAAC Coach of the Year

 Portland

  • The Pilots enter Friday’s match with a 2-1 record after defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-1) and Sam Houston (3-2) last weekend while falling to Nichols (1-3).
  • Portland holds a 4-2 advantage in the overall series.
  • The teams last played each other in 2014 when the Pilots won 3-1 at the Aggie Invitational in Davis.

Sacramento State

  • The Hornets begin the weekend with a 2-1 record after defeating Nevada (3-2) and Iowa (3-0) last weekend.
  • Sacramento State has a slight 10-9 advantage in the all-time series.
  • The Spartans have won the previous two meetings, 3-0 wins in 2021 and 2022.

Cal State Fullerton

  • The Titans enter the weekend with an 0-3 record after falling to San Diego State (2-3), Portland State (0-3) and Kansas State (0-3)
  • San José State has a 24-4 advantage in the overall series and has won the past two meetings (2016, 2017).
  • The two schools were part of the PCAA/Big West for much of the 1980s through 1995-96 school year.

Up Next

San José State travels across the country next week for the Fairfield Inn & Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational. SJSU will face host Campbell, Georgia Southern and UTSA at the tournament.

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