Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Utah State
Fresno State Tops Utah State In Five Game Thriller
10/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 5, 2005
Fresno, Calif. - Led by 26 kills from Alison Pitton and 84 digs as a team, the Bulldogs won their first conference match of the season in exciting fashion, beating Utah State in five games 31-29, 30-26, 27-30, 21-30, 15-13. In what was their first 5-game match of the season, the Bulldogs hit .242 in the final game, their highest of the match, and kept Utah State hitters to under .200 in the match. The loss is the first for Utah State in WAC play.
The defense of the Bulldogs proved to be difference in a tight match. The Bulldogs made 84 digs, led by libero Cassie Gilford with 32. Cheryl Selenak and Yuko Mori also had 13 digs apiece, and the team had 11 blocks, led by Kasie Spencer with 5 total blocks. As a whole Fresno State kept the Aggies under .200 for every game except for the fourth game, and held Utah State to .091 hitting in game one.
A huge comeback marked the first game, and gave the Bulldogs confidence against a Utah State squad that entered Wednesday at the top of the WAC standings. Despite falling behind 18-27, the Bulldogs put together a huge run, to tie the game at 28-28, and Utah State took a 29-28 advantage after a kill from Erin Graybill, two kills from Ilima Sam Fong and a block from Briana Rempel gave the Bulldogs a 31-29 win.
Fresno State used their advantage, and took the second game as well. Hitting .229 in game two, the Bulldogs again fell behind late, taking a 20-17 deficit, but went on another run and won the second game 30-26 following a kill from Alison Pitton, who had 26 kills for the match.
Utah State was able to eke out a win in a close game three to extend the match, and took a commanding lead in game four. The Bulldogs were unable to pull that lead back as they had in the first game, and the teams went to a deciding fifth game, the first for the Bulldogs this season.
Fresno State took the early advantage, though the teams stayed close, equaling each other at 6-6. Another kill from Alison Pitton gave the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead, and Utah State coach Burt Fuller was given a red card, handing the Bulldogs an 8-6 lead. An attack error from Utah State's Beth Hodge gave Fresno State a 9-6 lead, and the Aggies were never able to catch up to Fresno State, as the Bulldogs won 15-13 after Erin Graybill sent the final hit into the net.
The Bulldogs hit the road immediately, heading to the islands to play No. 11 Hawai'i on Friday night. The Rainbow Wahine are also undefeated in conference play this year. That match begins at 10 p.m. Pacific.
