Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Montana State
`Dogs Off to Best Start Since 2003
9/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - With its second 3-1 victory of the day, the Fresno State volleyball team improves to 2-0 at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic and now boasts a 4-1 overall record, the best for a Bulldog volleyball team since they started the 2003 season 6-1.
Fresno State dropped the first set to winless Montana State (0-5) 25-20, but would finish off the Bobcats in four sets with scores of 25-18, 25-16 and 25-17.
Fresno State took an early 6-2 lead over Montana State in the first set, as the Bobcats had some early errors in the match. MSU fought back as they took a 10-7 lead at the hand of a few Fresno State errors.
The `Dogs were down by as many as five at 15-10, but would get back to within one on two different occasions.
Down 24-19, a kill by Kelly Leonardo kept the `Dogs alive, but a block by Montana State gave the Bobcats the 25-20 set one victory.
Leonardo led the `Dogs with three kills in the set.
The `Dogs took a 5-4 lead in set two with a service ace by Lisa Gera.
With the set tied at 8-8, a service ace by Brianna Clarke, a kill by Clarke and a kill by Taylor Horton, gave the `Dogs a 12-8 lead and forced Montana State to take a timeout.
Montana State cut to within three at 14-11, but two kills by Lacey Gera and one by Lauren Berger, extended the Bulldog lead to 19-12.
Up 21-16, the `Dogs got kills from Horton, Lisa Gera and an ace from Clarke to take a 24-16 lead. MSU would get two points back, but a kill by Leonardo gave the `Dogs the 25-18 win in set two to tie the match at one set a piece.
"We are used to a different style of teams," said head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell. "These teams are throwing us off in the first sets but once we even it out we have been able to figure it out and come through. It's a good lesson for us."
Only down by one early in set three, the `Dogs took early control and had a comfortable lead of two-to-six points throughout the set as the `Dogs cruised to 25-16 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Lacey Gera had the final kill of the set and had 10 kills after the first three sets.
The Bulldogs never were behind in set four and led by as many as eight at 18-10 and 19-11. On the second set point, the `Dogs would seal the set and the match with a service error by MSU.
"In the first sets we were making a lot of hitting errors today," Netherby-Sewell added. "We then started getting more kills than errors which is what we needed. It was a team effort today because the whole team was up-and-down."
Lacey Gera led the team with 12 kills and posted her first double-double of the season by adding 10 digs. Clarke added 10 kills of her own and a new career-high .538 hitting percentage.
As a team, the `Dogs hit .293 and held MSU to a mere .097 percentage.
Fighting Spirit
Senior setters Allanah Munson and Lisa Gera were named the `Fighting Spirit' winners vs. Montana State
"Our team is struggling a lot playing teams that have a slower offense," said Netherby-Sewell. "Our two setters tonight kept the team's spirit alive after a dismal start. They kept working hard, kept the humor on the court and really brought us through until we figured it out and they earned it tonight."
To view the recap from Friday morning's victory over North Dakota, click here: http://www.gobulldogs.com/sports/w-volley/recaps/090409aaa.html.
Fresno State concludes play in the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic on Saturday at 6 p.m. PST as the `Dogs take on the host Cowgirls in the tournament finale. Live stats and video can be found at www.wyomingathletics.com.
"Wyoming has a lot of size and two very dynamic attackers," said Netherby-Sewell about tomorrow's competition. "They will play a similar game to what we saw today and we are going to have to play good defense from the ground up and serve tough."
"We Are Your Team" - The Fresno State volleyball team continues play in Wyoming at the Wyoming Invitational on Saturday at 6 p.m. vs. Wyoming. Single match tickets can now be purchased through the Save Mart Center Box Office, by phone (559-485-TIXS) or online at Ticketmaster.com.
