Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
* Tulsa
Volleyball Picks Up WAC Sweep Over Tulsa
10/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 3, 2002
TULSA, Okla. - Improving to 9-1 away from home, Fresno State continued Western Athletic Conference play on the road and notched a three game sweep (30-23, 30-19, 30-27) over Tulsa to go to 2-1 in league play and 14-2 overall.
Fresno State also handed the Golden Hurricane their first home loss as TU opened WAC play against the Bulldogs this evening and are now 0-1 in conference play and 15-4 overall.
Senior middle blocker Java Johnson, who hit .391 (11-2-23), tied for match-high honors in kills (13) while leading in blocks (4). Sophomore outside hitter Kristen Fenton and junior middle blocker Carrie Hartt also tallied a double-figure match. Hitting a match-high .417 (11-1-24), Fenton had 11 kills, two service aces, four digs and three blocks in the win while Hartt added 11 kills and had six digs and two blocks.
Tulsa was led by sophomore middle blocker Dana Weddle, who had 13 kills, three assists, an ace, three digs and two blocks. Amber Martin posted 10 kills and Nathalia Araujo had a match-high 13 digs.
In game one, Fresno State and Tulsa played ping pong as the game was tied 14 times before the first time out was called by TU with the 'Dogs up 20-18. Fresno State then went on a 4-1 run for its then biggest lead of the game at 24-19 before the Golden Hurricane used their second and final time out. Looking at game point at 29-20, TU staved off game point three times before Johnson ended the game with a kill in the 30-23 win. In the game, Fresno State hit .371 while Tulsa hit .195. Fenton and Johnson led the way with six kills with Fenton being perfect from the floor with a .600 (6-0-10) performance
Fresno State controlled game two from the first serve. The Bulldogs, who allowed Tulsa to tie the game once at 7-7, dominated with a .349 hitting percentage and held TU below .100 (.085). With Tulsa callling its final time out at 16-10, Fresno State closed out the game with a 14-9 run as sophomore outside hitter Amanda Magalei sealed the 30-19 victory with a kill. In the game, Hartt paced the Bulldogs with six kills.
In game three, Fresno State and Tulsa both had poor hitting as the Bulldogs hit .118 and TU hit .119. After a 3-3 tie, Fresno State trailed until the 'Dogs tied the game at seven. The Bulldogs took the lead at 8-7 and put a four point cushion between themselves and Tulsa (16-12) before TU called time out. With Fresno State increasing its lead to eight at 24-16, Tulsa took advantage of Bulldog mistakes. The Golden Hurricane chipped away at the eight point deficit and went on an 11-3 run to get within one at 27-26. However, a kill by junior outside hitter Christy Burnett and Fenton put the Bulldogs up at 28-26 and 29-27 before Johnson sealed match point with a service ace.
"We played a solid, all-around game," head coach Lindy Vivas said. "We have started to get our rhythm back and play smoothly like we did the first three weeks.
"Our outside hitters (Kristen Fenton and Christy Burnett) had a strong offensive match and our middles (Java Johnson and Carrie Hartt)continued their steady play. Our strength is a well-balanced attack and that was proven tonight.
"We were able to get some quality playing time for Amanda (Magalei) and Robyn (Keune), which will prove helpful down the road.
"We'll have another test on Saturday afternoon as UTEP has one of the top outside hitters in the conference in Jennifer Abbruzzese. Even though they brought a .500 record into tonight and opened WAC play against San Jose State, the Miners are playing well."
Fresno State continues WAC play on the road when it travels to UTEP for a 1:00 p.m. match up.
