Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
*Nevada
Volleyball Upends Nevada in Three
11/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 1, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State volleyball team played as if its back was against the wall.
With the regular-season winding down and just four matches to play, the Bulldogs took the bull by the horns and opened the month of November with a commanding performance over Nevada (30-20, 30-27, 30-21) in Western Athletic Conference play this afternoon.
Closing out the regular-season by playing four its final five at home, the win today moved Fresno State into a tie for second place in the WAC standings with SMU, which is on the road at Tulsa this evening.
Junior outside hitter Kristen Fenton stole the show after she collected her 1,000th career kill against the Wolf Pack as senior middle blocker Carrie Hartt continued her torrid pace.
Hartt led all players with 15 kills and hit a match-high .519 while chipping in three digs and five blocks in the victory. As the second-fastest Bulldog to reach 1,000 career kills, Fenton tallied 13 kills to go along with four assists, a service ace, eight digs and three blocks.
"It's definitely a milestone that only a select few have reached here," said Fenton, who has 1,002 career kills. "Knowing that it's so special to even reach that plateau makes it such a great feeling."
Junior middle blocker Tiffany Bishop also notched double-figure kills as she totaled 11 and had a match-high seven blocks while hitting .450. In addition, junior libero Tina Brennan posted a match-best 11 digs.
As a team, the Bulldogs hit .304 while keeping Nevada at a .164 clip. Salaia Salave'a led the Wolf Pack with a double-double after totaling 13 kills and 10 digs while adding five blocks. Carly Sorensen was the other Wolf Pack to post double-digits in kills as she picked up 12.
In game one, Fresno State came out hot as the Bulldogs hit .485 and recorded seven total blocks. Hartt and Fenton each had six kills while hitting better than .700 a piece.
In game two, the Bulldogs had a bit of a let down offensively. Hitting .189, Hartt led the way with five kills and Fenton had four as Brennan led the team defensively with six digs. Salave'a and Sorensen each had six kills for Nevada.
In game three, Fenton notched her 1,000th career kill on the 20th point scored for the Bulldogs. Bishop was perfect from the floor after hitting .833 (5-0-6) and picking up two block solos while Brennan came away with five digs. Nevada was kept below a .100 hitting percentage.
"Kristen had a nice, solid match," Fresno State volleyball head coach Lindy Vivas said. "She is so good, that on an off match, she is still one of the best players on the court. Her passing is always golden.
"We came out in the first game and set the tone with our blocking. We served tough and I think it slowed down their middles. Our serving and blocking was very good this match.
"This win puts us in a good position (for the tournament). We always have tough matches against Nevada and this was nice to win three."
Fresno State (18-5, 8-2 WAC) is back home for two more next week when the Bulldogs host San Jose State on Thur., Nov. 6, 7:00 p.m. in the North Gym. On Sunday, Nov. 9, the Bulldogs will christen the Save Mart Center by hosting No. 2 Hawai'i at 12:00 p.m. In addition to the regular outlets offered, fans also can purchase tickets for the Fresno State-Hawai'i match via Ticket Master.
