Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Head to the Midwest
9/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2007
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FRESNO, Calif. - After earning its first win of the 2007 season with a 3-0 sweep over UC Davis, the Fresno State Bulldogs to take on three national powerhouse teams at the Kansas State Invitational. The Bulldogs play Arkansas on day one, followed by No. 22 Kansas State and Northern Iowa on day two. All three opponents have received votes in the AVCA poll this season.
This Week's Opponents:
Arkansas
The Bulldogs and the Lady Razorbacks will meet for just the second time in history on Friday. The only other meeting came in December of 1994 as FS pulled out a 3-2 victory. Arkansas is 6-1 and received 24 points in the week two AVCA poll. Last week, they won the Jefferson Cup Invitational in Charlottesville, Va., as they defeated Temple (3-2) and swept Norfolk State and Virginia. Senior Jessica Dorrell was named MVP of the tournament as she finished the weekend with 42 kills while averaging 3.52 kills per game. She hit .318 in the three matches with 11 digs and added nine blocks.
Kansas State
Kansas State is ranked No. 22 in the country by the AVCA in week two, moving up three spots in last week's poll. The Wildcats are 5-2, with 3-1 losses to No. 5 UCLA and No. 16 Hawai'i. Their five wins are over Cal Poly, North Texas, Wichita State, Houston and Louisville. The all-time series between the two teams is 1-1 as Kansas State won last season's matchup 3-1. Stacey Spiegelberg leads the team with a .378 hitting percentage. As a team they hit .248 to just .169 of their opponents.
Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa Panthers received votes in the first AVCA poll and has started the season 3-3. They host Iowa State on Wednesday before arriving in Manhattan. The Bulldogs have only seen the Panthers once in history as well, back in September of 2000. UNI won that match 3-1. UNI is led by Danielle Brazda with an impressive .357 hitting percentage. She has 60 kills in 126 attempts.
Bulldogs Sweep UC Davis for First Win of Season
The 2007 home schedule saw the Bulldogs earn their first win of the season with a 3-0 sweep of UC Davis. FS had a season-high hitting percentage of .286, led by senior Angela Wiggins with a .333 percentage. In the home opener, the Bulldogs fell to Idaho State 3-1, as freshman Tairyn Rasmussen had her first career double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs. Undefeated St Mary's closed out this weekend as they continued their streak and improved to 5-0 on the season. Freshman setter Kasey Van Grouw led the Bulldogs with her third-career double-double with 16 assists and 10 digs. With a .286 hitting percentage, sophomore Kelly Leonardo led FS as she had five kills in 14 attempts.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The Fresno State Volleyball team travels to Manhattan, Kansas on September 7-8 for three games in the Kansas State Invitational. The next Fresno State Volleyball match at home is Tuesday, September 11 on Proud to be an American Night against Oregon State at 7 p.m. in the Save Mart Center. All military, fire and police department employees get two free tickets by showing their badge/ID at the box office on the day of the game.
