Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
UTEP
Volleyball Nets Eighth Straight Win
9/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 29, 2001
Fresno State volleyball is the best kept secret in the Valley behind the football's team success.
The Bulldogs notched their eighth straight victory and have jetted out to a 3-0 Western Athletic Conference start after tallying a 30-24, 24-30, 30-27 and 30-23 victory over visiting UTEP.
Averaging more than 3.0 blocks per game, Fresno State continued its dominance at the net after outblocking the Miners, 14-2, and outhitting UTEP, .241 to .163.
Senior middle blocker Shauna McQuaid recorded a match-high 21 kills and hit .313 (21-6-48) while sharing match-high honors in blocks with six. Her 20-plus kill performance was the fifth of her career.
Freshman outside hitter Kristen Fenton and sophomore outside hitter Kara Verwey each posted a double-double in the win. Fenton tallied 13 kills and had 13 digs to go along with four blocks. Verwey chipped in 12 kills and had a team-high 17 digs with one block.
Junior middle blocker Java Johnson's six blocks, along with McQuaid's six blocks, totaled for more than two-thirds of the Bulldogs' final count. Sophomore middle blocker Carrie Hartt came off the bench and picked up two big blocks to keep the momentum on the Bulldogs' side.
Junior defensive specialist Heather Farr added three more service aces to her already team-leading 20. The three aces served up by Farr tied her career-high for the fifth time. Sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Taneisha Tilque came off the bench for the final two games and picked up three kills, five assists, eight digs and three blocks.
"I thought we played well and when we needed to make adjustments, we did," head coach Lindy Vivas said. "We hit very well in game one, struggled a bit in game two and in game three we made the adjustment of moving Kristen (Fenton) to the left side and bringing in Taneisha (Tilque) to play on the right. Taneisha gave us a bigger block and played a very nice two games for us.
"Shauna (McQuaid) was very effective for us. The better we dig and pass well the better Shauna has a chance to be a nuance. Java's (Johnson) speed is very beneficial, especially on the outside. Kristen (Fenton) played her usual all-around game very well. She is very consistent and has great anticipation."
The Bulldogs' 3-0 start in WAC play is the best start since 1993 and it also marks the fourth time overall under 11th-year head coach Lindy Vivas (1993, 1992 and 1991) that the 'Dogs have opened conference play undefeated in their first three matches.
In addition, Vivas is now just two wins shy of collecting her 200th win at Fresno State (198-133, .598). With a 15-year career mark of 270-193 (.583), Vivas now boasts a 92-45 (.670) home court record.
Vivas and the Bulldogs will look to record the program's best start ever through the first six matches of WAC play next week. Fresno State will travel to Louisiana Tech, Rice and SMU and will have a chance to make history by going 6-0 in any conference affiliation by any Bulldog team. The best start by a Bulldog team in WAC play was 8-1 in 1992 when the 'Dogs first joined the league.
Fresno State will battle Lousiana Tech on Friday, Oct. 5, at 5:00 p.m. (PDT). The Bulldogs will then face Rice on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 11:00 a.m. (PDT) before meeting SMU the following night at 5:00 p.m. (PDT).
All three matches will feature Live Updates on www.gobulldogs.com.
