Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Southwest Missouri State (SMS/Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational)
Volleyball Takes Second in SMS Tourney After Going 3-1
9/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2004
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Fresno State volleyball team gutted it out but came up short in the win column as the Bulldogs finished second at the SMS/Dr. Mary Jo Winn Invitational at the Hammons Student Center this evening. The 'Dogs dropped a tough four-game decision (32-34, 27-30, 30-28, 26-30) to host Southwest Missouri State (5-0) as the match went just over two and a half hours of play. With game one featuring 23 ties and 11 lead changes, the Bulldogs also saw 14 ties and five lead changes in the third set. Senior outside hitter Kristen Fenton and junior setter Robyn Keune were named to the seven-member all-tournament team. Fenton finished second among all invitational participants in kills per game (5.64) and fifth in digs per game (4.57). Keune was the top assist leader with a 14.43 assist per game average as well as being the top service ace leader (10, 0.71 sapg). Four Bulldogs had 10-plus kill performances and five had double-figure digs in the four-game loss to the Bears. Defensively, freshman libero Yuko Mori posted a match-high 30 digs; the last time a Bulldog had a 30-dig match was Tuli Peters vs. San Jose State (10/4/03). Fenton (17 kills, 14 digs) and Peters (20 kills, 16 digs) recorded their fourth straight double-double while freshman outside hitter Christianna Reneau notched her second straight double-double (18 kills, 17 digs). Senior middle blocker Tiffany Bishop chipped in 11 kills and had a team-best five blocks. Keune picked up a double-double after dishing out 58 assists and collecting 13 digs. Game one and two were hard to take. In the first set, Fresno State and SMS saw 23 ties. With the Bulldogs up 28-27, a hitting error by Fresno State allowed the Bears to tie at 28 and the race was on. With the game tied at 31, SMS won three of the last four points on kills to seal the win. In game two, Fresno State fought back from a 6-1 and 11-7 deficit to tie the game at 11 on a service ace by Bishop. On a SMS hitting error, the Bulldogs took their first lead at 14-13 before the Bears managed to tie the game at 15. Fresno State increased its lead by four at 20-16 but SMS would go on a 4-1 run to get within one at 21-20. The Bulldogs took a three point lead at 27-24 but would get stuck. The 'Dogs committed six straight errors and handed the Bears the win. Fresno State found its blocking game in the third set. Reneau had seven kills and hit .333 (7-1-18) and Mori had eight digs. Reneau kept the Bulldogs in the game in the late half. With the game tied four times in the late part (25, 26, 27 and 28), Reneau put the 'Dogs up 29-28 on a kill before netting a block solo for the 30th point and win. Game four started out good for Fresno State as it opened with a 7-1 lead. Going up 12-7 and 13-8, SMS clawed back to tie the game at 14, 15 and 16. The Bulldogs could not get any closer than two (25-27 and 26-28) as Southwest Missouri State blocked the final two plays for the win. "I was extremely pleased with the way we played tonight," head coach Lindy Vivas said. "We could have just easily won any of the games that we lost. "Southwest Missouri State was a much taller team and had more experience but given that I thought we played tough on every point," Vivas continued. "There are some things we will work on and clean up in practice and get a little better at before our next matches. "I think this match showed the potential we have for the season and the line up is getting solidified," Vivas stated. "Everyone was gutting it out at every point. I felt we stayed with SMS and outplayed them a lot of the time. The difference ended up being a couple key plays in each game that they executed a little bit better than we did. Overall, however, we had a great first weekend. "I'm sorry this match was not played in Fresno because it was one of the most well played matches I've seen for a while in preseason play," Vivas added. "Our fans would have gone nuts." "Kristen showed her All-America form and I thought she led the team on the court," Vivas concluded. "Christianna did a tremendous job. Starting the last three games versus Kentucky and starting tonight, one would not have known she was a freshman. We knew last spring Yuko was going to be a great defensive player, picking up all the hard shots. Getting 30 digs in four games is virtually unheard of; she's going to be a great spark for us this season." Fresno State (3-1) is on the road next week at the Cal Poly Tournament, Sept. 10-11.
