Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
*UTEP
Volleyball Wraps Up October Homestand Perfectly
10/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 18, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State volleyball team made its October homestand a memorable one at the net as the Bulldogs wrapped up its two-match North Gym appearance with a four-game Western Athletic Conference victory over UTEP.
Averaging 4.38 blocks per game this past week, the 'Dogs poured it on as they collected a 30-10, 23-30, 30-23 and 30-25 win over the Miners.
Leading the way for the second straight home outing was senior middle blocker Carrie Hartt, who just missed out on a triple-double as she totaled 15 kills, 10 digs and nine blocks. The last time a Bulldog notched a triple-double was Sept. 4, 1999 (Lindsay Closs, 13 kills-11 digs-10 blocks vs. Nevada).
With Hartt leading the block party, the team tallied 26 block assists for the second straight time as sophomore setter Robyn Keune (five), junior middle blocker Tiffany Bishop (three), senior outside hitter Stefanie Taelman (four) and sophomore middle blocker Andrea Thrower (four) and junior outside hitter Kristen Fenton (two) all collected at least two blocks in the victory over UTEP.
Fenton (19 kills, 11 digs) and Hartt (15 kills, 10 digs) were the only two Bulldogs to tally a double-double. Outside of Fenton and Hartt, three other 'Dogs had double-digit digs in junior libero Tina Brennan (12), Keune (10) and Taelman (10).
Hitting .264 as a team, Fresno State held an opponent below .100 for the second time and below .200 for the 11th time on the season. The Bulldogs also tied their season-high in block assists (26) for the second straight evening after posting 26 against Boise State two nights earlier. In addition, the 'Dogs collected a season-high 18 total blocks versus the Broncos before tallying 17 total blocks this evening.
For UTEP, the Miners were led by Nina Reeves and Kari Stacy, who both had 12 kills a piece. Jennifer Abbruzzese had a match-high 15 digs while Brittney Bennett had a team-high eight blocks.
In game one, Fresno State came out smoking as it hit .609 (16-2-23) while UTEP was caught in the cross fire with a -.154 hitting effiency (5-9-26). Fenton (five) and Hartt (four) led the way offensively as they both hit .800 or better. The Bulldogs outblocked UTEP, 4-1.5 while Bishop led the way for Fresno State at the net with three block assists.
In game two, UTEP built as much as a 10 point lead before staving off a Fresno State come back. With 10 players in the game, the Bulldogs lost their intensity as they were held to a .000 (12-12-46) hitting percentage. The Miners picked up their hitting (.154), blocking (six) and serving (three aces) game as they snagged the second game. Reeves and Stacy each had four kills for the Miners while Fresno State was led by Fenton's four kills and Hartt's four blocks.
In game three, the Bulldogs discarded the mental lapse and came back with some fire in their belly by hitting .436. Hartt and Fenton combined for a .500 hitting performance (11-2-22) while freshman outside hitter Tuli Peters and Thrower combined for a .600 hitting percentage (6-0-10).
In game four, Fresno State outblocked UTEP (6-2.5) as Fenton and Hartt led the way again, with five and four kills, respectively. Hitting a cool .194, the Bulldogs were the victim of four service aces as the Miners totaled nine in the entire match.
"This match showed what can happen if you let down," Fresno State head volleyball coach Lindy Vivas said. "When the first game is too easy you have to prevent a let down and we let down just enough to allow the other team to get back in. Our coverage (off the block) should have been picked up in game two and we didn't do enough times. We tried some new things to allow some of the players to play defense. We weren't able to pass as well but, to their credit, they got back in the flow of things.
"I thought Robyn (Keune) did a nice job when I put other people in. Andrea (Thrower) came in and did a nice job for us, too. Carrie (Hartt) had a great series this homestand. She stepped it up and played a nice, stable, individual match. Her performance really helped us."
Fresno State (16-4, 5-1 WAC) will hit the road once again as the Bulldogs travel to Louisiana Tech (Oct. 23) and SMU (Oct. 25) next week.
