Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Sacramento St
Volleyball Wills Itself In Five-Game Thriller Over Sacramento State
9/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 7, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Down 0-2 in the match, the Fresno State volleyball team kicked itself in the pants and got things rolling. The Bulldogs picked up a critical game three win before responding with a nail-biting fourth-game victory and sealed the match with a resounding five-game win.
The Bulldogs, who improved to 2-0 in the 15th Annual Fresno State Invitational, recorded a 23-30, 22-30, 30-25, 32-30, 15-10 win against Sacramento State (3-3), which fell to 1-1 in tournament action.
Fresno State held the Hornets to a -.095 hitting percentage in game five and outblocked CSUS (13-11.5) before notching its second win on the season to improved to 2-3 overall.
The Bulldogs were spearheaded by freshman setter Whitney Arena and freshman outside hitter Kristen Fenton. Arena dished out a season-best 41 assists while also tallying eight kills, 13 digs and two block assists. Fenton chipped in 12 kills, eight digs and three block assists.
However, sophomore outside hitter Kara Verwey and senior middle blocker Shauna McQuaid tied for team-honors in kills with 13 thanks to Arena. Verwey, who collected a double-double against Morgan State earlier in the day, notched her third double-double on the season with 13 kills and a match-high 16 digs. McQuaid enjoyed her best outing of the season today after collecting 14 kills, seven digs and six total blocks against Morgan State and 13 kills and five blocks against Sacramento State.
Sacramento State, which defeated UMKC in three games this morning, had four players with 10 or more kills in Jayme Wright (16), Tasman Dwyer (16), Kelly Voeltz (12) and Alison Gahr (13). Wright and, Voeltz and Gahr each notched a double-double in the match. Setter Lisa Beauchene had 62 assists and 10 digs with three blocks in the loss to Fresno State.
"We needed time to get our rhythm," said head coach Lindy Vivas, who is eight wins shy of collecting her 200th win at Fresno State. "We knew that if we could pull out game three we would have time to start playing solid ball. Our goal was to take game three, if we did that, then game four would come. We wanted to push Sacramento State to a fifth and deciding game. The band and the home crowd were behind us the entire match but they were a significant factor in the final game."
Fresno State (2-3), which is 2-0 in tournament play in the 15th Annual Fresno State Invitational, meets UMKC (0-5) and Arkansas-Little Rock (3-2) tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 8, at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
Both matches will showcase Live Scoring Updates on www.gobulldogs.com.
For the results of day one of the 15th Annual Fresno State Invitational, see below:
2001 Fresno State Volleyball Invitational Results
Sept. 7-8, North Gym, Fresno, Calif.
Day One
September 7, 2000
10:00 am Arkansas-Little Rock (2-2) def. Morgan State (2-3), 3-0 [30-23, 30-17, 30-18]
12:30 pm Sacramento State (3-2) def. UMKC (0-4), 3-0 [30-23, 30-17, 30-18]
3:00 pm Fresno State (1-3) def. Morgan State (2-4), 3-0 [30-19, 30-25, 30-20]
5:30 pm Arkansas-Little Rock (3-2) def. UMKC (0-5), 3-0 [30-24, 30-23, 30-24]
7:30 pm Fresno State (2-3) vs. Sacramento State (3-3), 3-2 [23-30, 22-30, 30-25, 32-30, 15-10]
Day Two
September 8, 2001
10:00 am Morgan State (2-4) vs. UMKC (0-5)
12:30 pm Arkansas-Little Rock (3-2) vs. Sacramento State (3-3)
3:00 pm UMKC vs. Fresno State (2-3)
5:30 pm Sacramento State vs. Morgan State
7:30 pm Fresno State vs. Arkansas-Little Rock
Day One Standings
1. Fresno State 2-02. Arkansas-Little Rock 2-03. Sacramento State 1-14. Morgan State 0-25. UMKC 0-2
