Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Nevada
Volleyball Lets One Slip Away
10/18/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 18, 2001
RENO, Nev. - It was a chance to make their mark but the Fresno State volleyball team missed key opportunities as they dropped a four-game decision to Nevada (20-30, 30-24, 28-30 and 25-30) on the road.
Nevada, which improved to 8-0 at home, dropped from No. 6 to No. 10 in this week's West Region poll after Fresno State posted a commanding four-game win over Nevada at home last week.
Despite Fresno State winning the battle defensively by outblocking (12-10) and outdigging (66-61), it was the storied adventure of hitting and serving that proved to be the difference.
Nevada dished out 10 service aces as each team committed 11 service errors a piece. The Wolf Pack hit .189 but it was good enough as the Bulldogs hit 30 points lower (.159).
Fresno State wasted the efforts of five Bulldogs tallying double-figure kill performances, led by junior outside hitter Christy Burnett, who was one of three players overall to collect a double-double (11 kills, 21 digs). Senior middle blocker Shauna McQuaid had a team-best 16 kills while freshman outside hitter Kristen Fenton also posted a double-double (12 kills, 16 digs). Junior middle blocker Java Johnson and sophomore outside hitter Kara Verwey each had 10 kills a piece. Burnett led all players with 21 kills and McQuaid led all players with six blocks.
Nevada was led by Kellie LaBossiere who had 14 kills and 15 digs to go along with four blocks and a .357 hitting percentage. Shannon Stemler (12 kills) and Michelle More (19 kills) also chipped in on the Wolf Pack's win.
"Nevada has two good hitters tonight," head coach Lindy Vivas said. "We had plenty of opportunities in each game but we could not make a run. We had too many hitting errors when we tried to put a string of points together. We did have some good rallies. We groveled and we fought back. However, we could not challenge Nevada because we missed out on our opportunities. And, our serve and pass was not at its best tonight."
Fresno State will host No. 12 Hawai'i this Saturday, Oct. 20, at 12:00 p.m. in the North Gym.
