Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
*San Jose State
Volleyball Defeats San Jose State
10/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 4, 2003
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Fresno State volleyball team evened its Western Athletic Conference road record to 1-1 when the Bulldogs posted a 3-1 (27-30, 31-29, 30-26, 30-23) victory at San Jose State this evening.
Improving to 13-4 overall and 3-1 in WAC play, the Bulldogs hit better than .300 as they had four players with 10 or more kills and had two in double-digit digs. Collecting a season-high 79 assists as a team, the 'Dogs also responded with a season-best 22 block assists while tying their season block total of 14 for the fourth time on the season.
Freshman outside hitter Tuli Peters was the lone player in the match to collect a double-double as she tallied 15 kills and a match- and career-high 30 digs. The last Bulldog to notch 30 or more digs was outside hitter Tricia Tuley, who had 31 versus Sacramento State on Sept. 14, 1996.
Junior outside hitter Kristen Fenton powered her way to her 12th 20-kill performance on the year after totaling a match-high 27 while hitting a match-best .462 (27-3-52) to go along with three assists, two service aces, six digs and four blocks.
Sophomore setter Robyn Keune bounced back after a lack luster outing against No. 2 Hawai'i and responded with a career- and match-high 73 assists. Keune's 73 assists is a new Fresno State rally-scoring record for a four-game match (old record was 69 by Whitney Arena vs. San Jose State, Nov. 3, 2001).
Also contributing to the Fresno State offense was senior middle blocker Carrie Hartt, who had 19 kills, and junior middle blocker Tiffany Bishop, who had 12 kills.
The two middles also led the way in blocking as Hartt totaled a match-high seven blocks while Bishop had four. While Fenton and Peters also had four blocks a piece, junior libero Tina Brennan added 14 digs for the Bulldogs.
San Jose State's Kimberly Noble and Carrie Nash combined for 40 of the Spartans' 60 kills. Noble had a team-best 23 kills and hit .392 (23-3-51) while Nash chipped in 17 and hit .216 (17-6-51).
In game one, Fresno State played from behind in the first 10 points before eventually tying it at 10 on a Hartt service ace. After the Bulldogs took a 16-12 lead, SJSU responded by tying the game at 16 before the two exchanged ties at 17 and 18. The Spartans then took the lead at 19-18 before the 'Dogs had to chip away and tie the game at 23 on a Fenton service ace. With the game tied at 24 and 25, Fresno State fell behind again and stayed behind as San Jose State ended the game on a 5-2 run for the 30-27 win. While Fenton hit .700 (7-0-10) in the game, Noble and Nash combined for 11 kills with no errors in 20 attempts.
In game two, the Bulldogs rushed out to an 11-3 lead for its first of five eight point leads it pinned on the Spartans. At 23-17, San Jose State went on a 4-2 run to pull within four at 25-21 before going on a 5-1 spurt to tie the game at 26. With Fresno State taking the lead at 27-26 on a Fenton kill, SJSU then took the lead at 28-27 on a Peters hitting error. Peters erased the attack error by connecting for back-to-back kills for a 29-28 Fresno State lead. While a Noble kill tied the game at 29, Hartt closed out the game with a kill while combining with Fenton for a block in the 31-29 win. Fenton and Peters had eight and six kills a piece while Noble and Nash each had five.
Game three started out as another catch-up game for the Bulldogs but blocking proved pivotal for Fresno State. Tied at 5-5, Fresno State fell short up until tying the game at 13 and 14. With a Bishop/Peters block for a 15-14 lead, the Bulldogs put a little room in between themselves and SJSU at 19-16. With the Spartans getting within one a 19-18, Fresno State pulled out to a 24-22 lead only to see San Jose State tie the game at 24. Fresno State controlled the last eight plays of the game as three blocks and a pair of kills from Hartt and a kill from Peters gave the Bulldogs a 30-26 victory. Fresno State out blocked SJSU, 7-0, in the third set while Hartt posted eight kills and hit .538 (8-1-13).
Fresno State took the lead in game four and never allowed San Jose State to get any closer than three as the Bulldogs relied on efficient hitting and another defensive effort in digging and blocking. Running out to a 12-4 lead, SJSU got within three at 13-10. The Bulldogs pushed out to a 20-12 lead on a Bishop kill. With its biggest lead at eight two more times (24-16 and 25-17) going down the stretch, Fresno State closed out the game with a pair of kills from Fenton, a service ace by Hartt and a kill by Bishop for the 30-23 win. Fenton was perfect from the floor after getting seven kills with no errors in 15 attempts.
"I'm very pleased with this win because this was a tough road trip," Fresno State head volleyball coach Lindy Vivas said. "We really needed to take the court tonight and be focused and consistent.
"We let the first game get away from us but we came back tough in the second game, especially the last five points, which we gutted it out. In the final two games, we seemed to be in more of a rhythm and found our defensive game.
"All of our work we have put into our blocking game paid off tonight (Fresno State out blocked SJSU, 9-0 in game 3 and game 4 combined). We knew we had to slow down their outside hitters for us to be successful.
"We had a couple of standout performances in the match, especially with Kristen's (Fenton) 27 kills and Tuli's (Peters) 30 digs. Carrie (Hartt) and Tiffany (Bishop) did a nice job working throughout the whole match to keep our blocking strong.
"Overall, it was a total team effort. This was a critical road win in the conference and regional standings. Now we have a week at home to work on some things before heading on the road again (at Nevada).
Opening the year by playing 12 of its first 17 matches on the road, the Bulldogs continue their road travel when they play at Nevada on Sat., Oct. 11, 5:00 p.m. With a 9-3 road mark, the Bulldogs will have played 13 of their first 18 matches away from home once they play the Wolf Pack.
Going 10-3 in the first half of the season and out to a 3-1 start in the second, Fresno State will close out the regular-season by playing six of its final nine matches in the North Gym/Save Mart Center.
