Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
William & Mary (Golden Gate Classic)
Volleyball Opens Season With San Francisco Tournament
9/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2005
San Francisco - Fresno State volleyball opened the 2005 campaign by competing in the Powerade/Asics Classic at the University of San Francisco. The team started play with a morning matchup against William & Mary, losing to the Tribe in three games. Robyn Keune started the third game as setter for the Bulldogs, and moved into fourth place all time among Fresno State setters in the loss, finishing the match with 2,322 assists in her career.
Fresno State used heavy substitutions in their match with William and Mary, using 11 players in the entire match. The Bulldogs had two players with 10+ kills, as Alisha McKee had 12 kills and Mounia Nihipali had a double-double, recording 10 kills to go along with 12 digs. The Bulldogs didn't have an answer in the end for the offense of the Tribe, making only six blocks over the course of the match.
The Bulldogs continue play this afternoon at the USF Powerade/Asics classic against North Carolina at 4:45 p.m. The Tar Heels, like the Bulldogs are using the tournament as their first competition of the year.
Game 1 Recap - Game one started quickly as both teams started evenly in game one. The Bulldogs pulled ahead towards the middle of the game, and held a 15-13 advantage. The Tribe took advantage of two service aces from libero Kathleen Hawley to gain an advantage at 16-15, and stretched that lead to 24-17 towards the end of the match. William and Mary extended that advantage in the remainder of the match, spreading out at least three kills by three different players in the first match to gain 30-19 win in the first game.
Game 2 Recap - The Bulldogs opened the second game by taking the first point of the game, but the two teams stayed even through the early portion of the match. The Bulldogs kept the lead through the early portion of the match, but the teams stayed even up to an 11-11 tie. The tribe took their first lead of the match at 14-13 after a service ace from middle blocker Carly Huffman. Trading points on extended volleys, the Tribe took their biggest lead of the match at 18-16, but the Bulldogs evened the match at 18 and continued the run to take the lead at 19-18 after a kill by Alisha McKee. The Tribe took over at that point, taking a 21-20 lead and extending it to 27-20 before the Bulldogs brought it back to 27-22. The teams exchanged points for the rest of the game, and the Tribe took the second game 30-27.
Game 3 Recap - Fresno State scored three out of the first four points, and Robyn Keune moved into fourth place on the Fresno State career list for assists, passing Kieran O'Leary with her 2,308th assist in her career. William & Mary opened a 7-5 lead early, but the Bulldogs closed the gap following a Mounia Nihipali kill. William and Mary moved to a 16-13 lead, but again the Bulldogs closed the gap at 17-17, and then grabbed the lead at 18-17, but the Tribe answered back, taking a 21-19 lead. William and Mary extended their lead to 27-22, and continued through the remainder of the match on the way to a 30-26 win.
