Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Cal State Bakersfield
`Dogs Win Opener in Thriller
8/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 29, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - It took a comeback, but the Fresno State Bulldogs pulled out a thrilling 3-2 victory over Cal State Bakersfield in the night cap of the Fresno State Invitational at the Save Mart Center Friday night. The Bulldogs defeated the Roadrunners by scores of 23-25, 33-31, 20-25, 25-17 and 15-12.
It was the first win at Fresno State for head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell as the Bulldogs are now 1-0, winning the season opener for the first time since 2004. It was also the first time in three meetings the Bulldogs had defeated CSUB, as the Roadrunners took both matches from Fresno State in 2007.
"What means the most is the heart that we showed," said Netherby-Sewell. "What a great way to start the season with a five-game exciting thriller of a match. I am really happy with our progress and having a competitive hard-working team."
The Bulldogs were led by freshman Brianna Clarke with 19 kills. Sophomore Tairyn Rasmussen added 17 of her own. The Bulldogs hit .217 in the match to just .171 for CSUB and tallied 12.5 total blocks, led by Clarke and Lauren Berger with two each. Lisa Gera led the way on defense with 18 digs.
"It is a really good feeling to know it was a team effort," said Clarke. "No one could've done that by themselves. We are all floating on cloud nine right now, it's an amazing feeling. The team played everything we needed too. We played scrappy and knew what they were going to throw at us and we picked it all up."
Fresno State was up early in set one and didn't surrender the lead until it was 23-22 CSUB and the Roadrunners took the set by two.
The Bulldogs then battled back for a hard-fought 33-31 victory going into the break.
Set three was then a five-point win for CSUB before the `Dogs posted a convincing win in set four and took that momentum to set five. The `Dogs sealed the match on a kill by Clarke.
In other Fresno State Invitational action, Saint Mary's defeated UC Davis 3-1. The tournament concludes on Saturday with four games slated beginning at 10 a.m. with CSUB vs. Saint Mary's. The Bulldogs then take on UC Davis at noon which will be aired live on 790 ESPN Radio the Deuce. For complete tournament action log on to www.gobulldogs.com.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The Fresno State Volleyball team continues action in the Fresno State Invitational with two games on Saturday, August 30th at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs take on UC Davis at noon and Saint Mary's at 7 pm. Single game tickets can now be purchased through the Save Mart Center Box Office, by calling (559) 485-TIXS or online at ticketmaster.com.
