Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Tulsa
Volleyball Suffers Sixth Straight Loss in Five Games to Tulsa
11/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 17, 2000
TULSA, Okla. - Fresno State (12-16, 5-9 WAC) has had its problems with the lower portion of the teams in the Western Athletic Conference standings over the past few weeks. And the match up against Tulsa on the road continued the `Dogs woes as Fresno State dropped a 13-15, 15-12, 6-15, 15-6 and 13-15 decision to the Golden Hurricane (18-12, 4-12 WAC). The 18 wins posted by Tulsa were the most since the 1980 squad went 30-11 as an independent. And its four victories in WAC play are the most ever posted by Tulsa since joining the league in 1996.
Junior middle blocker Shauna McQuaid led all players with 19 kills and added five blocks and a career-high four service aces in the loss. In addition sophomore outside hitter Christy Burnett chipped in 13 kills and had 16 digs as the only Bulldog to collect a double-double. Sophomore middle blocker Lindsay Closs added 12 kills while freshman outside hitter Kara Verwey had 11. Tulsa was led by Kristien Van Lierop's 16 kills and a match-high 25 digs.
Looking to break a six-match losing streak, Fresno State concludes its season on the road early next week with SMU on Monday, Nov. 20 and TCU on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Game 1 recap With the opening game tied five different times, Fresno State saw its biggest lead of the game at four points (11-7 and 13-9) evaporate as the Golden Hurricane charged back with a 6-0 run and snag a 15-13 win. In that game, Fresno State managed a .135 hitting percentage (12-7-37) while Tulsa hit .316 (18-6-38). Sophomore outside hitter Christy Burnett led the way for the Bulldogs with four kills while Tulsa was led by Kara Hidinger's five kills. Defensively, Tulsa picked up 18 digs to Fresno State's nine while blocks were even at three a piece.
Game 2 recap Jumping out to a 5-0 lead, Fresno State dismissed five service aces by the Golden Hurricane and captured a 15-12 victory to tie the match at one win a piece. The `Dogs had command of the game until TU snuck back in to tie the game at 10-10. After Fresno State called a time out, the Bulldogs answered back with a 5-2 run of its own. Junior middle blocker Shauna McQuaid served four straight points for a 14-10 lead before sealing the victory with a kill. Fresno State hit .229 (18-7-48) in game two while Tulsa hit .220 (17-6-50). After two games, McQuaid became the top kill leader for Fresno State with eight while Kristien Van Lierop totaled 10 kills as Tulsa's top kill leader.
Game 3 recap Tulsa dominated at the net in game three. The Golden Hurricane collected six total blocks and earned eight points off the Bulldogs to cruise to a 15-6 victory. Fresno State posted a 4-0 lead but as soon as Tulsa tied it a 5-5, the Golden Hurricane took off and notched a 10-1 run for the win. Fresno State hit -.071 (8-10-28) while TU hit .304 (11-4-23).
Game 4 recap Fresno State wasted little time in correcting its performance from a game earlier. Trailing 3-1, the `Dogs tied Tulsa at 3-3 and 5-5 before taking off once they captured the lead at 6-5. The Bulldogs turned the tables on Tulsa and scored 10 points off TU errors while tightening it's serving and blocking game. Freshman Kara Verwey served out the last three points as McQuaid and senior outside hitter/setter Malia Malu combined for a block to win the game. Fresno State hit .244 (16-6-41) while Tulsa hit .139 (11-6-36).
Game 5 recap The game saw six lead changes but Tulsa clinched the match with a 15-13 victory. With neither fairing well in hitting, TU relied on Bulldog mistakes and scored nine points. The Golden Hurricane only recorded four kills and had three errors in 22 attempts (.045). Fresno State went 7-7-25 in the fifth game (.000). The loss dropped the `Dogs to 3-6 in five game play and gave Fresno State is first losing season since 1993 and 14th overall in the program's history. The win by Tulsa is its first ever over Fresno State (4-1) and evened the conference meetings at 1-1 on the season.
