Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Maryland-Eastern Shore (USD Invite)
Volleyball Wraps Up USD Tournament With Win
9/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 13, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The Fresno State volleyball team recorded its second sweep of the season when the Bulldogs pinned a three-game victory on Maryland-Eastern Shore to wrap up tournament play at the University of San Diego Invitational.
Going 1-2 in the tournament, the Bulldogs picked up a 30-22, 30-19 and 30-16 win over the Hawks after nearly upsetting No. 19 Long Beach State earlier in the day.
Fresno State (7-3) was led by junior outside hitter Kristen Fenton and junior middle blocker Tiffany Bishop. Fenton led the Bulldogs with 15 kills and had seven digs and a block while Bishop tallied 10 kills and added two blocks.
Sophomore middle blocker Andrea Thrower pitched in with nine kills and had two aces to go along with a match-high six blocks. Freshman outside hitter Tuli Peters led the 'Dogs defensively with a team-high 12 digs.
Maryland-Eastern Shore was paced by Jana Milin, who had a match-high 18 kills to go along with 13 digs and a block.
Fresno State hit better than .340 in the first two games and closed out the match with a .406 hitting percentage in the final set. The Hawks started out strong with a .318 hitting performance but slowed offensively as the match went on with a .233 hitting percentage in game two and a -.061 hitting efficiency in game three.
"This win was good in that we were able to see more people play over a length of time," Fresno State volleyball head coach Lindy Vivas said. "We were able to work on some things and I thought the players that did come in worked nicely together."
In game one, Fresno State took the lead at 3-2 and had as much as a seven point cushion (27-20) before a service ace by Thrower ended the game.
Game two went back and forth until the game was tied at 7-7. Taking the lead at 8-7 on a kill by junior outside hitter Amanda Magalei, the Bulldogs then went on a 14-8 run before the Hawks took a time out at 22-15. Maintaining at least a six point margin, Fresno State closed out the game with an 8-4 run which was sealed by a Fenton kill.
Fresno State took control of the game from the first serve when a Bulldog block by Bishop and sophomore setter Robyn Keune put the 'Dogs up 1-0. Building a 20-10 lead, Fresno State had contributions from its blockers and hitters as it forced Maryland-Eastern Shore into five unforced errors. The Bulldogs closed out the game with a 10-6 run, including a service ace match winner by Peters.
Fresno State finished third in the tournament as Fenton was named to the seven-player all-tournament team. The University of San Diego captured its own tournament after sweeping No. 19 Long Beach State this evening.
Fresno State will wrap up a three week, 10-match road swing next week when the Bulldogs travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., for the Northern Arizona Invitational, Sept. 19-20.
