Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State (WAC Tournament)
Volleyball Opens WAC Tournament with a Sweep Over Boise State
11/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 19, 2004
RENO, Nev. - The Fresno State volleyball team opened tournament play at the 2004 Western Athletic Conference Championship with its ninth sweep of the year after defeating No. 4 seed Boise State this afternoon at the Virginia Street Gym on the campus of the University of Nevada.
Entering the tournament as the No. 5 seed, the Bulldogs controlled the match as they pinned a 30-27, 30-23 and 30-23 loss on the Broncos, who end the season with a 17-12 overall record.
With Fresno State improving to 15-12 overall, the 'Dogs have now won six of their last eight matches as the victory advances the Bulldogs to the WAC semifinals for the third time in the last four years.
One of three schools to have qualified for all seven tournaments, Fresno State improved to 31-19 on the road the last three years as freshman outside hitter Christianna Reneau and senior middle blocker Tiffany Bishop spearheaded the Bulldogs' offense.
Reneau, who has tallied 25 consecutive double-figure kill matches, posted a match-high 17 kills against the Broncos as she hit a match-best .394 (17-4-33. Also recording nine digs and a block, she became just the second Bulldog freshman to post a 400-kill season (415) as well as being the 16th 'Dog overall to collect a 400-kill year.
Bishop recorded 10 kills and tied for match-high honors in blocks (5) with junior setter Robyn Keune, who dished out 31 assists to go along with two kills and three digs.
Defensively, freshmen Mounia Nihipali and Yuko Mori shared match-high honors in digs as they each had 10. Nihipali also chipped in six kills and a block while sophomore outside hitter Tuli Peters had four kills and nine digs. Senior middle blocker Amanda Magalei also had four kills and netted four blocks in the win.
Hitting .027 as a team, Boise State did serve up nine aces. Offensively, the Broncos were led by Cameron Flunder's 14 kills. Hitting a team-best .364 (14-3-30), she also had two aces, a dig and a block. Jackie Stroud led BSU with 10 digs while Heather Malashak had a team-high five blocks.
With the victory over Boise State, Fresno State improved its all-time series record to 12-1 as the Bulldogs won two of the three meetings from the Broncos this season.
"This was a great win for us as everyone contributed and worked hard in the tournament opener," Fresno State volleyball head coach Lindy Vivas said. "This team is one of the most resilient teams that I have worked with in years. They just keep coming back and working harder and harder. It's nice to be rewarded, especially as this team has really started to put things together in the last six to eight weeks.
"Today, you saw a team that made adjustments nicely. We focused on serving tough, on having efficient passes and working harder on our blocking game. Our progress is how we are evaluating ourselves and this team just needed more matches, more experience.
"Tomorrow we'll face Hawai'i. They are solid and it's hard to find a weakness. They have a better balance and everyone is contributing. They have a quick attack hitter in Victoria Prince and Alicia Arnott has done a great job. We think we can match up with both of them in Christianna (Reneau) and Tiffany (Bishop). We're looking forward to playing Hawai'i, they're always intense."
Game-by-Game Recaps
Game 1 - With the game tied four different times to start the match, Nihipali tied the game at six and seven on kills before a service ace by Peters gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game. A Magalei kill gave the `Dogs a five point lead at 13-8, forcing Boise State to call its first time out. The Broncos took advantage of the break and went on an 8-3 run to tie the game at 16. A Peters kill put Fresno State up by one and the Bulldogs maintained the lead until BSU got within one at 20-19. With the `Dog calling their first time out, they increased their lead to four after Bishop recorded a pair of kills to make it 23-19. Boise State called its final time out and was able chip away at Fresno State's lead. A Reneau kill and a BSU hitting error gave the Bulldogs a 26-21 lead. After a pair of errors by the `Dogs, the Broncos crept right back into striking distance after serving up an ace and recording a pair of kills to get within one (26-25). While a Fresno State hitting error tied the game at 26, a block by Magalei and Peters gave the lead back to the Bulldogs (27-26). Another hitting error allowed the game to be tied at 27 before a Reneau kill gave the lead back to the `Dogs (28-27). A Bronco hitting error and a kill by Nihipali sealed the 30-27 victory. Offensively, each team struggled with consistency as Fresno State hit .095 and Boise State hit .000. Reneau hit .400 after recording five kills with one error on 10 attempts while Bishop and Nihipali each chipped in kills. For Boise State, Flunder also hit .400 after notching five kills with one error on 10 attempts. Defensively, BSU won the digging battle (17-13) while the Bulldogs won the blocking battle (4-2).
Game 2 - With eight ties to start the second game, Fresno State took control of the game in the final half and never relinquished control. The game was tied at one, two and seven through 11 before Boise State took the lead at 12-11. The Bulldogs fought back and tied the game at 14 on a Bishop and Keune block. After that last tie, Fresno State vaulted into command. Starting with a service ace by Peters, she would serve the next five points, including another ace, as the Bulldogs took a 19-14 lead despite a Boise State time out at 17-14. A Peters kill and a block by Bishop and Keune increased the Bulldogs lead by five at 21-16. A kill by Reneau made it another five point lead (24-19) before getting to six on a BSU hitting error (25-19). With the Broncos calling a time out at 25-19, Fresno State increased its lead to seven at 27-20 on a Nihipali kill. In the final three points, the `Dogs would get kills from Nihipali (29-22) and Bishop (30-23) to record the victory. Fresno State, which held Boise State to just four earned points in the second half of the game, hit .375 while the Broncos were limited to a .111 hitting efficiency. Reneau was perfect from the floor after hitting .667 (6-0-9). Flunder was the top hitter for Boise State after also being perfect from the floor and hitting .714 (5-0-7). Defensively, BSU won the digging battle (14-13) while the Bulldogs won at the net (2-1). After two full games, Reneau already recorded double-figures in kills (11) and was hitting a team-high .526 (11-1-19). For Boise State, Flunder also was in double-figures for kills (10) while hitting a match-high .529 (10-1-17).
Game 3 - After going up 2-1, Fresno State did not allow a tie for the rest of the game against Boise State. Going up 10-4 and 14-8, Fresno State maintained its control over the Broncos. While BSU got within two at 14-12, forcing the Bulldogs to take a time out, Fresno State increased its lead by five (17-12) on a Magalei and Keune block. The Broncos then took their first time out and got within one at 19-18. However, the `Dogs would take a 21-18 lead on a pair of BSU hitting errors before going up 26-21 on a Reneau kill. With Fresno State up by five again, Boise State called its second time out but it went for naught as the Bulldogs responded with three straight points for a 29-21 lead. After a Bronco kill and a Fresno State hitting error gave BSU two consecutive points, Reneau would close out the game with a hard driven attack off an overpass that landed right in front of the 10 foot line to give `Dogs a 30-23 win. While hitting .109, Fresno State limited the Broncos offense as they hit .-026. Reneau recorded six kills while Bishop added two. Flunder, BSU' top offensive player, was stymied as she only posted four kills while five other Broncos only had one kill. While digs were tied at 17 apiece, Fresno State outblocked Boise State, 3-2.
Fresno State continues its bid for a WAC title tomorrow evening with a 5:00 p.m. match up against top seed and second-ranked Hawai'i. The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a three-game sweep over No. 8 seed SMU earlier today.
The Bulldogs last faced Hawai'i in the WAC Semifinals in 2001 (L 3-0). UH owns the best WAC tournament record at 17-2 with four titles.
The Hawai'i-Fresno State match can be seen live on cable TV on Oceanic (ch. 16). In addition, the match can be heard live on KKEA Sports and Talk Radio 1420 AM on the islands as well as on the internet at www.kkea1420am.com.
The winner of the Fresno State-Hawai'i match moves on to the WAC championship, which will be played at 3:00 p.m. and shown live on College Sports Television on Sun., Nov. 21.
