Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Kansas State (Fresno State Invitational)
Volleyball Upended By No. 25 Kansas State
8/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 25, 2006
FRESNO, Calif. - Looking to shake off an earlier loss in the day, Fresno State pushed No. 25 Kansas State to four games and nearly notched its first win of the season but came up short after losing 27-30, 30-24, 29-31, 24-30 to the Wildcats.
Junior outside hitter Alisha McKee collected a season- and match-high 22 kills for the Bulldogs. The 20-kill performance was her second of her career after tallying 23 against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 15, 2005.
Freshman outside hitter Lacey Gera picked up her first career 20-kill performance after contributing 21.
Two senior Bulldogs led the team defensively. Outside hitter Alison Pitton was the lone 'Dog to collect a double-double after chipping in 10 kills while tallying a career-high 20 digs. Libero Cheryl Selenak had her second career 20-dig performance after notching a team-high 24 this evening.
Fresno State outdug Kansas State (70-67) and outaced the Wildcats (7-3) while hitting .199 to KSU's .258.
Kansas State (1-0) had four players in double figures as Sandy Warner collected a team-best 17. Jenny Jantsch picked up a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs. Angie Lastra recorded a match-high 26 digs while Stacey Spiegelberg had a match-best 57 assists.
In game one, Fresno State was led by McKee who had eight kills while Pitton collected 11 digs as both led all players in each category, respectively.
In game two, McKee and Gera each had a game-high six kills. Gera was on fire as she hit .429 (6-0-14). Defensively, Selenak had eight digs while KSU's Lastra picked up nine. Leading 23-21, Fresno State would score four consecutive points with Pitton serving for a 27-22 lead. Fresno State closed out the game on a Gera kill for the 30-24 win.
In game three, Fresno State hung tough offensively. The Bulldogs hit .353 (17-5-34) while Kansas State hit .357 (22-7-42). The Wildcats won the game at the net after recording 11 blocks to the 'Dogs seven. Gera had six kills while KSU's Ginta Gabruseva had a game-high seven kills and hit .455 (7-2-11).
In the final game, Kansas State continued its hot hitting with a .310 (19-6-42) performance.
Fresno State (0-2) continues tournament play tomorrow night with a 7:00 p.m. match up against Pacific (0-1). The Tigers dropped a three-game decision to No. 6 Santa Clara earlier in the day.
