Fresno State Athletics
Volleyball Suffers Three-Game Setback to No. 17 Pepperdine
9/1/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2001
MALIBU, Calif. - Fresno State probably wished it could have started out like it did in game three but the Bulldogs came out flat in games one and two before challenging the 17th-ranked Pepperdine Waves in game three.
Pepperdine swept Fresno State (30-22, 30-13, 30-26) to improve to 2-0 on the year while the Bulldogs fell to 0-2.
In games one and two, the Waves riddled the Bulldogs with unforced errors. The Waves had as much as an eight point lead difference in game one and as many as 14 in game two. In the finale, Fresno State kept within five points and took the lead a couple of times before the Waves rode the backs of Katie Wilkins and Brie Harris.
Wilkins posted a match-high 16 kills while Harris was right behind with 15 and added 14 digs.
Fresno State was led by sophomore outside hitter Kara Verwey who had eight kills and eight digs. Junior defensive specialist Heather Farr posted a team-best 12 digs and fellow junior outside hitter Christy Burnett had 10. Junior middle blocker Java Johnson was next in line with six kills and tied for match-high honors in blocks with four.
The telling tale of the match was hitting. Fresno State mustered a .064 (29-21-125) hitting efficiency while Pepperdine hit .326 (56-14-129). Blocks were even at six a piece. Fresno State's serving was excellent as it committed just one error. Pepperdine came out on top in digging (59-47) and had nine service errors.
Fresno State will focus on its final match in the Howdy's Pepperdine Classic when it closes out tournament play with Northern Arizona (0-1) tonight. The Lumberjacks will meet Florida State in a 12:00 p.m. contest before playing the Bulldogs this evening at 7:00 p.m.
