Fresno State Athletics
Volleyball Hosts 16th Annual Fresno State Invitational, Sept. 6-7
9/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. -
Complete Fresno State Volleyball Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Bulldogs Make Home Debut in Fresno State Invite
The Bulldogs make their first appearance at home this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7, with their 16th Annual Fresno State Invitational. The two-day four-team tournament field showcases Air Force, Fresno State, Nicholls State and No. 19 UC Santa Barbara. All three visiting teams are making their first appearance in Fresno State's tournament. Winning five of the last eight invitational titles, the 'Dogs boast eight tournament crowns, while Arizona, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Washington State have each snagged one. All-Tournament and single-day passes are available. Chairback seat prices are $14.00 for adults and $8.00 for children while bleacher seat prices are $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for children. Day passes are $10.00/6.00 for adults (chairback) and $8.00/$4.00 for children (bleachers).
Head Coach Lindy Vivas
In her 12th season as head coach of the Bulldog volleyball program, Lindy Vivas (UCLA, 1980) captured her 200th win at Fresno State on Oct. 8, 2001 with a sweep over SMU. Leading the Bulldog volleyball program to its 450th win in the five-game decision over Rice in the quarterfinal round of the WAC Volleyball Championship on Nov. 16, 2001, Vivas has directed the 'Dogs to five postseason appearances while leading the Bulldogs to six 20-win campaigns. The two-time WAC Coach of the Year honoree has led the Bulldogs to two NCAA Tournament showings (1991, 1998) and three NIVC appearances (1995-94-92) since her arrival in 1991. Averaging 19 wins a year with a 93-47 (.664) home court record and a 52-27 (.658) WAC mark at home, Vivas has coached three all-region/all-district and 19 all-WAC picks (22 overall). Vivas, who has led the 'Dogs to all four WAC Volleyball Tournaments (1996-98, 2001), owns a 16-year career record of 280-200 (.583) and a 12-year school record of 208-140 (.598).
Week 1: Bulldogs Capture William & Mary Hi-IQ Tourney
Fresno State captured the William & Mary Hi-IQ Tournament with an unblemished 4-0 mark which sported all three-game sweeps ... Head coach Lindy Vivas picked up her 280th career victory against William & Mary ... Vivas improved to 7-5 in season openers while the program improved to 21-10-1 in openers ... Fresno State met Furman, East Carolina and Radford for the first time while improving to 2-0 against William & Mary all-time ... Fresno State's 4-0 start marks the 11th time overall and sixth-time under Vivas (1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002) that the Bulldogs have won their first four contests ... In the year's that the 'Dogs jumped out to a 4-0 start, three of those seasons were 20-win campaigns and the one year - 1998 - Fresno State advanced to the NCAA Tournament with an 18-11 mark ... As a team, the Bulldogs averaged 4.00 service aces per game after compiling 48 in 12 games ... Averaging 10 or more aces in its final three matches, Fresno State had 14 versus East Carolina and followed with 15 against Radford; the school's single-match record is 17 vs. CS Bakersfield (1990).
Burnett Shines in Season-Opening Weekend
Senior outside hitter Christy Burnett (Fallbrook, Calif.) was named tournament MVP... She recorded her first career all-tournament MVP award and her second career all-tournament honor ... Burnett tied school's rally scoring three-game record in digs (16 vs. Furman) ... Among tournament participants, Burnett finished second in service aces (14) and third in hitting percentage (.341) ... She served up 14 of the team's 48 service aces on the weekend as the Bulldogs averaged 4.00 sapg ... Burnett also tied career-high five aces vs. East Carolina (tied own rally-scoring school record for most aces in a three-game match set last year against CS Northridge) ... She had a match-highs in kills (12), hit percentage (.476) and service aces (5) against East Carolina ... In that match, Burnett dominated game two by herself by notching eight of the team's 15 kills, hitting .800 (8-0-10) and collecting five aces ... Against William & Mary, finished second on team in kills (9) and had a match-high three aces while hitting .381 ... Also finished second on the team in kills (8) versus Furman ... Posted her 32nd double-figure kill match versus East Carolina & her 44th double-figure dig match versus Furman.
More Top 'Dog Performances
Junior middle blocker Carrie Hartt (Manteca, Calif.) dished out 11 of the team's 48 service aces ... With Hartt and Burnett, the duo teamed up for more than half of the team's aces ... Senior middle blocker Java Johnson (Fresno, Calif.) and sophomore outside hitter Kristen Fenton (Marysville, Mich) were also selected to the William & Mary Hi-IQ all-tournament team ... Johnson led all tournament participants with a .500 hitting percentage (39-7-64) and was fourth in kills per game (3.25) ... Fenton finished second to Johnson in hitting percentage (.348, 42-10-92) while third in kills per game (3.50) ... Hartt placed third among all players in blocks per game (1.08) and fourth in service aces (11, 0.92) ... Senior libero Heather Farr (Cameron Park, Calif.) led the Bulldogs and was third overall in digs (36) in tournament action with a 3.00 dig per game average ... Freshman setter Robyn Keune (Ventura, Calif.) helped out in running the Bulldogs' offense ... Making her debut against East Carolina, Keune had 23 assists against the Pirates before tallying 36 versus Radford and William & Mary ... Keune ended up finishing second overall among tourney participants in assists per game (95, 10.56).
Fresno State Invitational Opponents
About Air Force (0-4):
Out of USAFA, Colorado, the Falcons are coming off a 0-4 worksheet at the Southwest Texas State Invitational. Air Force opened the year with a three-game loss to Southern Illinois (21-30, 23-30, 24-30) and was swept by North Texas (28-30, 25-30, 23-30) and Mississippi State (23-30, 28-20, 26-30) before losing in four to host Southwest Texas State (26-30, 23-30, 33-31, 26-30). Air Force, which is coming off a 2-21 record and returns all six starters, has three players averaging at least 3.00 kills per game in sophomore middle blocker Tiffany Bishop (3.00), freshman middle blocker Kristin Hamlett (3.08) and junior outside hitter Delavane Diaz (3.77). Bishop leads the team in hitting (.272, 39-17-81) and blocking (14, 1.08 bpg) while Diaz is tops in kills (49), kills per game (3.77), service aces (7), digs (41) and digs per game (3.15). Head coach Penny Lucas-White is in her seventh season and entered the year with a 43-127 career record. In the all-time series, Fresno State is 2-0 against the Falcons. The two teams last met in 1996 when Air Force was part of the Western Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs notched a pair of three-game victories from the Falcons both home and away.
About Nicholls State (1-3):
Hailing from Thibodaux, La., the Colonels posted a 1-3 record at the Arkansas State Invitational. Nicholls State opened the season with a three-game loss to host ASU (25-30, 29-31, 25-30) and dropped a five-game match to Arkansas-Little-Rock (30-18, 28-30, 30-23, 23-30, 3-15). NSU then rebounded with a sweep over Belmont (30-23, 30-18, 30-25) before losing a four-game decision to TCU (25-30, 19-30, 31-29, 17-30). The Colonels, who return two starters from a 6-20 team, are being led by senior middle blocker/outside hitter Jana James and junior outside hitter Becca Beall. James leads NSU in kills (63), kills per game (4.20) and hitting (.266) while Beall is second in kills (51), kills per game (3.40) and service aces (8). Junior middle blocker Anne Gaddis leads the team in blocks (11, 0.73 bpg) while junior libero Cheri White is tops in digs (71, 4.73). Head coach M.J. Engstrom is in her third year with Nicholls State and brought a four-year career mark of 54-64 into the 2002 campaign. This will be the first meeting between Nicholls State and Fresno State.
About #19 UC Santa Barbara (3-0):
Out of Santa Barbara, Calif., the Gauchos went 3-0 at San Diego State's Aztec Invitational. UC Santa Barbara, which moved up a spot in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll released on Labor Day, recorded three-game victories over Florida International (30-19, 30-19, 30-20) and Tulane (30-21, 30-21, 30-28) before posting a four-game win over host San Diego State (28-30, 30-21, 30-16, 30-17). UCSB, which returns five starters from a 17-14 team that advanced to the 2001 NCAA Tournament, is hitting a blistering .400 as a team while averaging nearly three blocks a game (2.80) and 18 digs per game. Individually, senior outside hitter/middle blocker Danielle Bauer and junior outside hitter Erica Menzel are each averaging at least 4.00 kills per game. Bauer is tops for the Gauchos in kills (46), kills per game (4.60), digs (41), digs per game (4.10) and second in blocks (10, 1.00 bpg). Menzel is second in kills (40), kills per game (4.00) and digs (39, 3.90 dpg). As one of only four programs to have qualified for all 21 NCAA Championships, UC Santa Barbara is under the direction of 28th-year head coach Kathy Gregory. As the only coach of the UCSB volleyball program, the Volleyball Hall of Famer brings a 671-291 career record into the year. In the all-time series, UC Santa Barbara holds a commanding 20-4-3 lead. The last time the two teams met was six years ago in the Gaucho's Invitational. UCSB beat Fresno State in three (15-6, 15-4, 15-5) on Sept. 6, 1996.
Home Success
The Bulldogs have enjoyed success in the North and South Gyms over the years and own an all-time home record of 159-115 (.581) since 1978; the Bulldogs are 115-81 (.587) since 1987 in the North Gym. Last season the Bulldogs shattered the school record for consecutive home wins with nine (old record was five in 1998). The Bulldogs went 10-2 at home in 2001 - marking the fourth time under Vivas and overall in school history that Fresno State has posted 10 or more wins (1994, 1995, 1997, 2001). Under Vivas, the Bulldogs are 93-47 (.664) in the North Gym while 8-3 in home openers.
Volleyball Ticket Information
Tickets are on sale for the 2002 season. Fresno State plays all of their home matches at the North Gym, just beyond the softball stadium on Barstow Avenue. Gates and the on-site ticket office open one hour prior to first serve. Parking is free of charge. Outside food or drinks are not allowed inside the gym. Security measures will be enforced. Tickets may be purchased at the event, on-line at www.gobulldogs.com, or in advance at the Bulldog Ticket Office. It is cash only at the event. Seating is general admission in the wooden bleacher section, or there is reserved seating in the red chair back section. Fresno State students are free with a valid student ID. Tickets for groups and nonprofit organizations can be purchased by phoning (559) 244-2800.
USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Competition
The Bulldogs have four schools on their calendar that are either ranked in the Top 25 or received votes in the first regular-season poll in the 2002 USA Today/AVCA Top released on Sept 2. Fresno State will meet No. 4 Hawai'i, which received four first place votes, twice, on Oct. 25 and Nov. 15. The 'Dogs will taste their first Top 25 competition against No. 19 UC Santa Barbara in their own Fresno State Invitational on Sept. 7. Fresno State will then host No. 29 University of San Diego (71 votes) the following week on Sept. 20. Hawai'i and also received preseason recognition by Volleyball Magazine's preseason poll as UH checked in at No. 2.
2002 Bulldogs
Fresno State welcomes a 14-player squad that features two all-Western Athletic Conference performers in Burnett and sophomore setter Whitney Arena (West Linn, Ore.). In addition, Vivas also has two 2002 preseason all-WAC players in Burnett and Johnson. The Bulldogs return nine letterwinners, including four starters.
Preseason All-WAC Honors
Fresno State had two seniors named to the 2002 Preseason Western Athletic Conference Team in Burnett and Johnson. Selected by the league's 10 coaches, Burnett and Johnson picked up their first WAC preseason honors after being named to the 12-member team. Having ranked among the WAC's top ten in digs last season, Burnett also appeared in the league's top ten in hitting, kills per game and service aces. The 2001 second team all-WAC performer started all 24 matches. Burnett led all Bulldogs with nine double-doubles and returns as the team's top offensive (231 kills, 2.69 kpg) and defensive (297 digs, 3.45 dpg) leader. Johnson, who helped to the Bulldogs to national notoriety in blocking last season as the team finished 21st in the final release of the NCAA stats, will be the force at the net for the 'Dogs. Finishing second on the team in total blocks (98, 1.27 bpg) in 2001, Johnson had at least one block in every match but three and played in all 24 matches. She also returns as one of the team's offensive leaders after collecting 178 kills (2.31 kpg).
WAC Tournament Tickets on Sale
Tickets for the 2002 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament, which will be hosted by the University of Nevada in Reno, Nev., are on sale. The tournament will be held on campus at Nevada's Virginia Street Gym, Nov. 22-24, as eight of the 10 teams will compete in the tournament. Ticket prices are $30 for adults and $15 for children and students for an all-session pass (seven matches). All seats are general admission and prices apply to all age groups. Tickets can be purchased at the University of Nevada or by calling (775) 348-PACK (7225). WAC volleyball fans can also obtain a room rate at the Silver Legacy Hotel (1-800-687-8733).
