Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Hawaii
Volleyball Falls to No. 2 Hawai'i
11/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 5, 2004
HONOLULU - The Fresno State volleyball team nearly took a road game from second-ranked Hawai'i but it was home court advantage that proved the difference as the Rainbow Wahine captured a 30-24, 31-29 and 30-17 victory at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Sophomore outside hitter Tuli Peters was the lone Bulldog to post a double-double as she collected 13 kills and 12 digs to go along with four blocks. Hitting a team-high .345 (13-3-29), she also notched her 13th double-double of the season.
Freshman outside hitter Christianna Reneau posted a team-best 14 kills to go along with two digs and a block. Freshman libero Yuko Mori was the other Bulldog to be in double-figures for digs with 11.
Alicia Arnott led Hawai'i as she tallied a match-high 15 kills to lead all players. Tara Hittle added 10 kills while Kanoe Kamana'o was the lone Rainbow Wahine in double-digit digs with 13. Victoria Prince dominated at the net defensively as she netted 10 blocks while picking up nine kills.
Hawai'i (21-0, 11-0 WAC) closes out conference play next week at home with San Jose State and Nevada.
"Overall we competed well," Fresno State volleyball head coach Lindy Vivas said. "We're young but are progressing very well. We need more matches to get more experience. One of goals was to come out and compete hard for every play. I thought we did that well for the most part. In game two we had our chance to steal that game but we came up a play short. We played hard and I thought we showed that we could compete.
"Tuli (Peters) played well," Vivas added. "She had a nice overall match both offensively and defensively. I thought we matched her up well against Alicia Arnott. We're still learning and getting better. Yuko (Mori) did a nice job in front of a huge crowd for her first time here. She handled the situation well. She passed a lot of balls and took the hard shots. Our middle attack escaped us tonight but we'll keep working on it. We'll keep working to have a more balance attack and be more consistent. We're looking forward to coming home again."
Game-by-Game Recaps
Game 1 - After a 2-2 tie, Fresno State went out to a pair of two point leads (5-3, 6-4) before UH tied the game at six. A service ace by Nihipali tied the game at eight and that would be the last time the Bulldogs would stay even with the Rainbow Wahine. With Hawai'i jumping out to a seven-point lead (20-13), the Bulldogs would call their first time out. The `Dogs could not immediately capitalize as UH built at 10 point lead (25-15). However, Fresno State would chip away at that lead and cut in half as a combined block by Peters and Amanda Magalei would make it 27-22 deficit. Hawai'i picked up a kill for a 26-22 lead, forcing a time out by the Bulldogs. A kill by Peters (23-28) and by Mounia Nihipali (24-29) kept Fresno State within five two more times before a Rainbow Wahine kill sealed a 30-24 win. Peters led the `Dogs with five kills while Reneau and Nihipali added three. UH was led by Arnott's six kills. Defensively, Mori led Fresno State in digs (5) while Susie Boogaard and Hittle each had five digs.
Game 2 - With the game tied 12 different times, Fresno State nearly pulled a game off the Rainbow Wahine. The game started out with six ties (1-6) before the Bulldogs took the lead at 7-6 on a Hawai'i hitting error. The `Dogs built a four point lead (11-7) before UH tied the game at 11. With the game tied at 12 and 13, the Rainbow Wahine would take their first lead at 14-13. After a Nihipali kill got Fresno State within one (13-14), the Bulldogs would commit three consecutive errors as UH went up 18-14. A Reneau kill got the `Dogs within one at 18-19 but Fresno State would again commit three consecutive errors as UH went up 22-18. The Bulldogs called a time out with that four point defecit and its proved beneficial as the `Dogs stayed within striking distance. A Peters kill got Fresno State within one (23-24) before an ace by Mori had the `Dogs within one again at 24-25. Hawai'i was forced to call a time out as the Bulldogs went on a 6-3 run. UH would gain a three-point cushion at 27-24 after serving up an ace. However, Fresno State would get a kill by Nihipali and a combined block from Nihipali and Bishop as well as a Hawai'i hitting error to tie the game at 27. Robyn Keune would give the lead back to the Bulldogs on a kill before UH answered back with a kill of its own to tie the game at 28. Tiffany Bishop would give Fresno State a 29-28 lead on a quick kill before Hawai'i closed out the game with a 3-0 run to capture a 31-29 victory. Reneau led the Bulldogs with eight kills while Nihipali added four. Arnott led UH with five kills. Defensively, Peters had seven digs while Kamana'o had nine digs. After two games of play, Reneau and Arnott each had 11 kills to lead all players. In addition, Peters and Kamana'o each had 10 digs to lead all players.
Game 3 -- Fresno State never got on track in the final set. Hawai'i took the lead from first serve and never relinquished it. Building as much as an eight point lead (18-10), Fresno State tried to get back into the game but never got closer than six points. With a 20-14 lead, UH went on a 5-0 run to make it 25-14 before closing out with a 5-3 run for a 30-17 win. UH hit .467 in the final game as Arnott collected three kills. Fresno State hit .105 as Peters led the way with six kills.
Winning three of its last four, Fresno State (12-12, 5-7 WAC) will close out its regular-season at home next week. The Bulldogs will host UC Davis on Thur., Nov. 11, 7:00 p.m., before concluding WAC play against Boise State on Sat., Nov. 13, 7:00 p.m.
