Fresno State Athletics
Volleyball in First Full Week of Preseason Practice
8/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 16, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. -
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Preseason Practices Underway
The Fresno State volleyball team is in its first full week of preseason practice after reporting on Aug. 11. The 2004 Bulldogs, who are under the direction of 14th-year head coach Lindy Vivas, return nine and welcome six newcomers. The 2004 squad boasts four preseason All-Western Athletic Conference picks, including the WAC's Preseason Player of the Year in senior outside hitter and 2003 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American Kristen Fenton (Marysville, Mich.). "Meet the Team" Activities Set
The general public can meet the 2004 Fresno State volleyball team and coaches on Sat., Aug. 21, from 1:00-2:30 p.m., at Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis, Calif. Held in center court, fans will be able to get autographs while picking up schedule cards, posters and season ticket brochures. The Fresno State cheerleaders and Timeout will be on hand as well. Those who come will have an opportunity to sign up and win a family four pack of reserved seats at the Save Mart Center when Fresno State hosts No. 13 Hawai'i on Sept. 30. Bulldogs Receive Preseason Votes
For the second straight year, the Fresno State volleyball team received preseason national recognition after picking up votes in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Preseason Poll, as announced by the American Volleyball Coaches Association on Aug. 9. The Bulldogs received 12 votes for a No. 43 showing, up a spot from a year ago in the 2003 USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Coaches Preseason Poll. While the preseason nod marks the sixth time in the program's history that the `Dogs received preseason votes, it also makes it the fifth time under Vivas that Fresno State has received early acknowledgments. Dating back to 2002, Fresno State have now received votes in the AVCA's official poll in 19 of 35 weeks dating back to 2002. 'Dogs Picked Second in WAC Preseason Coaches Poll
Picked to finish second in the 2004 Western Athletic Conference preseason poll last month, Fresno State is coming off a 21-7 record and finished second to Hawai'i for the second consecutive year after posting a 10-3 league mark. Receiving the most first place votes in a preseason volleyball coaches poll since joining the WAC, Fresno State turned heads by tallying 66 points, including three first-place votes. The Bulldogs, who are a combined 44-14 over the past two seasons, placed second to eight-time WAC champion and 2002 and '03 NCAA Semifinalist Hawai'i for the third straight year in the coaches' preseason poll. The 2004 WAC Coaches Preseason Poll is the closest vote since UH edged San Jose State by nine votes in 2000. This year, the Rainbow Wahine recorded 74 points with five first-place votes while the 'Dogs were eight points back. Hawai'i loses three All-Americans but returns the AVCA National Freshman of the Year in setter Kanoe Kamana'o. Notables
Fresno State is looking to post its 100th WAC win as well as handing Vivas her 250th school win this season ... Fresno State will get its first taste of Top 25 competition on Sept. 10 when the `Dogs take on No. 25 Notre Dame at the Cal Poly Tournament ... Fresno State will open its conference home schedule against No. 13 Hawai'i on Sept. 30, 7:00 p.m., at the Save Mart Center ... With 1,125 career kills, Fenton is 209 digs shy of becoming just the fifth Bulldog to record 1,000 career kills and digs. Head Coach Lindy Vivas
In her 14th season as head coach of the Bulldog volleyball program, Lindy Vivas (UCLA, 1980) collected her 300th career win in the season opener against New Mexico on Aug. 29, 2003. Recording the program's 200th overall league victory versus Nevada on Oct. 11, 2003, Vivas has been a three-time WAC Coach of the Year selection. Vivas has led Fresno State to eight of its nine 20-win seasons while advancing to postseason play six times. With three NCAA Tournament appearances, including two in the last six years, her 2002 squad established the school's best win percentage (.767, 23-7) while advancing to the WAC Tournament Semis for two of the last three seasons. Averaging 19 wins a year, Vivas owns a 13-year record of 248-154 (.617) at Fresno State and a 17-year career mark of 320-214 (.599). The Bulldogs, who are 113-51 (.689) at home under Vivas, have gone 30-6 (.833) in the North Gym the past three seasons. Vivas has coached two AVCA All-Americans, eight AVCA all-region/all-district winners, 28 all-WAC picks (31 overall) and the WAC's first preseason player of the year outside of Hawai'i. Leading the 'Dogs to all six WAC Volleyball Tournaments (1996-98, 2001-03), she directed the program to its best start (16-2) and third-most wins (23) in 2002. Opening 2004 with a No. 43 showing, Vivas has directed the program to five of its six preseason listings. 2003 in Review
Catapulting off a 23-win season in 2002, the Fresno State volleyball team went 21-7 in 2003 while making its sixth straight trip to the WAC Volleyball Tournament ... The Bulldogs have received votes in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll 18 times in the last 34 weeks dating back to 2002 ... Fresno State has gone a combined 44-14 overall the last two seasons while being 30-6 the last three years at home ... The Bulldogs had four all-WAC picks while Fenton repeated as an AVCA All-West Region honoree ... Fresno State was nationally ranked as a team in wins, assists and blocking while having players individually ranked in kills and assists per game ... The `Dogs set 12 school rally scoring records while tying their own mark set in 2002 for consecutive conference home wins (6) ... Fresno State set a new school average attendance mark (1,031), which finished at No. 30 in the nation, and a new single-date attendance mark (4,708 vs. Hawai'i, Nov. 9) ... Improving to 16-4 at home in conference play the last three years, Vivas picked up her 300th career win to open 2003 while collecting the program's 200th conference win overall ... Fresno State had its second All-American ever in Fenton ... Opening 2003 by playing 15 of their first 22 matches on the road, the Bulldogs captured three of four invitations they participated in during the first three months of the season ... Fresno State went 11-4 against non-conference opponents and 14-5 versus West Region squads ... The 'Dogs posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the fourth time in school history and finished second to Hawai'i in the WAC's Western Division for the second straight year ... Fenton, who set five rally scoring school records, became the ninth Bulldog to amass 1,000 career kills and did so at the second fastest pace (64 matches) in school history ... She ranked every week in the NCAA stats for kills per game, she pounded out a school and then national-best 41 kills against CS Northridge on Nov. 12 ... As the ninth player in Division I history to record a 40-kill match (since rally scoring began in 2001), she is the first Bulldog to hit .300 in more than one year and the first to do so in back-to-back seasons ... Outside hitter Tuli Peters (Laie, Hawaii) made her freshman campaign one of the top five in school history as she finished among the top five by all true Bulldog rookies in kills, attempts, service aces, digs, block solos and total blocks ... Middle blocker Tiffany Bishop (St. Anne, Ill.) garnered Second Team All-WAC honors as she led the team in blocks per game and finished second in total blocks and fourth in kills ... Setter Robyn Keune (Ventura, Calif.), a Second Team All-WAC pick, became the seventh player in school history to tally a 1,000-assist season ... Ranking among the league's top five in setting, she dished out the third most assists in a season (1,345) and set the second-best mark for assists per game (12.65) ... Nationally ranked three times in assists per game last fall, she owns the school's rally scoring mark for assists in a four- and five-game match.
