Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Jose St
Volleyball Suffers Five-Game Loss to San Jose State
10/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 27, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Someone had to lose. Unfortunately Fresno State was the one that had to suffer a gut-wrenching five-game loss to San Jose State as the Spartans eeked out a 29-31, 30-28, 30-21, 15-30 and 15-12 Western Athletic Conference victory in the North Gym.
Before a season-high 703 fans, Fresno State had four Bulldogs collect double-doubles while posting a season high in block assists (31) and total blocks (17.5).
Junior outside hitter Christy Burnett tallied a team-high 21 kills and notched a match-high 19 digs -- both two off of her career highs in both categories -- while hitting .313 (21-6-48).
Senior middle blocker Shauna McQuaid, who was recognized for her career in tonight's home finale before play got underway, was one block away from posting her first triple-double as she finished the match with 15 kills, 16 digs and nine blocks.
Junior middle blocker Java Johnson chipped in 12 kills, hit .346 (12-3-26) and had a match-high 11 total blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Kara Verwey added 18 kills and 12 digs.
San Jose State was led by Brianna Blair's match-high 24 kills despite hitting .169 with 15 digs and five blocks. Six Spartans recorded 10 or more digs and Blair was the only player to post a double-double for SJSU.
Winning every statistical category but one, the Bulldogs' passing game in the finale ended up costing them a chance to move up in the WAC's Western division race as well as collect a West Region win over the Spartans.
"We made a nice run at San Jose State," head coach Lindy Vivas said. "We put ourselves in a position to win even though we were missing two starters (Kristen Fenton, family emergency and Taneisha Tilque, right ankle sprain). We changed the line up in game four and that helped us. In adversity, we might have found a new answer for the team.
"We didn't execute the fundamentals, especially passing in game five," Vivas continued. "We lost too many opportunities from not passing sharply. We put ourselves in a position to win going into the final game.
"I thought Christy [Burnett] hit, passed and dug very, very well tonight," Vivas added. "Her level of consistency has been very good this season. I also thought Whitney [Arena] adjusted very nicely with the new line up in game four. Java [Johnson] blocked very nice for us. She had a good practice the other day in blocking and tonight it all made sense. She contributed very nicely in game four and five in hitting and blocking. She was exciting to watch."
Fresno State, which finished with a final 10-2 home court record this season, will wrap up its 2001 season on the road with stops at Boise State and San Jose State next week before concluding regular-season play at Hawai'i.
With a 12-7 overall record and a 6-4 conference mark, the Bulldogs will use the final three matches to position themselves for the upcoming WAC Volleyball Tournament Championship, which will be hosted by San Jose State, Nov. 15-18.
