Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
Volleyball Swept on the Road by Boise State
10/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 14, 2004
BOISE, Idaho - Falling to .500 for the first time on the year, the Fresno State volleyball team was swept in Western Athletic Conference road play after dropping a 30-23, 30-28, 30-22 decision to Boise State at Bronco Gym.
While Boise State captured its first win ever in the 11 match ups contested against the Bulldogs, Fresno State was led by freshman outside hitter Christianna Reneau, who posted a team-best 13 kills to go along with seven digs and two blocks.
Senior middle blocker Tiffany Bishop chipped in 10 kills and added four digs and three blocks. As the only player on the court in double-figures for digs, freshman libero Yuko Mori collected a match-high 16 while freshman setter Ilima Sam Fong recorded 28 assists.
A very much improved Boise State (15-5, 4-3 WAC) got a match-high 15 kills from Cameron Flunder, who also hit .462 (15-3-26). With a pair of junior college transfers and another transfer from a Division I school, the Broncos became just the second team to shutout Fresno State this fall.
"The team is competing hard," head coach Lindy Vivas said. "Right now we continue to be younger than everybody and the youthfulness is something that we have to be patient with as they continue to grow.
"We had our chances in game one and two," Vivas stated. "We let five or six points get away from us and that can make all the difference in the world in rally scoring. When we learn to control those situations and turn it around, then we should be fine.
"Our defense is good and our blocking has gotten better," Vivas added. "We're working on offense, which has proven to be a weak link for us this season. We have five freshman on the floor but they are competing. They have a lot talent and we need to be patient and allow them to work through it."
Game-by-Game recap
Game 1 - While going out to a brief 3-1 lead and the game being tied at four, Fresno State found itself flurrying back to get into the game. Down 10-6, the Bulldogs used their first time out. Getting within two at 12-10 and within one at 14-13, Boise State forged ahead and built a seven point lead at 22-15 after posting an 8-3 run. Fresno State called its final time out and proceeded to record an 8-1 run of its own, forcing the Broncos to call a time out with a 27-23 lead. BSU squelched any more Bulldog opportunities and closed out the game with a pair of kills and a block for a 30-23 win. Fresno State hit .167 to BSU's .282. Kim Fenneman led the Broncos with five kills while hitting .444 (5-1-9). Reneau led the Bulldogs with five kills and hit .400 (5-1-10). The `Dogs won the digging battle (13-10) while the Broncos won at the net (3-2) in blocks.
Game 2 - Fresno State took command right out of the gate as it built a 10-4 lead. Up 13-5, Boise State started knocking on the door harder and harder. Nearly erasing a commanding lead, the Broncos went on a 6-0 run to pull within two at 13-11. Fresno State built its lead back up and took a 19-14 lead as Boise State took its first time out. Up 20-15, the wheels started to come off the cart as the Broncos jetted out to a 9-4 run to tie the game at 24. With the game tied at 26 and 27, BSU closed out the game as the Bulldogs committed two hitting errors in the final three points. Both teams had disappointing hitting percentages as Fresno State hit .073 and BSU hit .047. While digging and blocking went in the `Dogs favor (18-11 digs and 5-3.5 blocks), it was a relentless come back by the Broncos that garnered the 30-28 victory. Already with 12 kills in the match, Reneau led Fresno State with seven kills while Heather Malashak had five for BSU.
Game 3 - Fresno State could not break the Broncos spell in game three as Boise State led the entire game. While the Bulldogs got within three, twice (11-14 and 12-15), BSU did not allow Fresno State any room to advance and steal a win. The Broncos built a 23-15 lead before the last 14 points were even at seven points a piece. Mounia Nihipali sparked the 'Dogs with five kills and six digs while Bishop added four kills. Fluner collected nine of her 15 kills in the final set and hit .429 (9-3-14) to seal the 30-22 victory. Fresno State mustered a .111 hitting efficiency while Boise State hit .310. While the digs (16-16) and blocks (1-1) were even, Fresno State was not efficient offensively.
Fresno State (9-9, 2-4 WAC), which is riding a three-match losing streak, continues WAC road play with a match up at UTEP on Sat., Oct. 16, 12:00 p.m. (PDT).
