Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Jose State
Bulldogs Spear Spartans in 4
10/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Fresno State's stretch drive to qualifying for November's WAC Volleyball Tournament began with a key 3-1 road win (25-19, 25-16, 17-25 and 25-21) at San Jose State on Saturday afternoon.
"A road win in this conference is rare and I am so happy that we were one of the teams that could get one," head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said. "I am most proud that as a team, everybody contributed in a really positive way. If we play any WAC match how we did in set one and two, we are going to win a lot of matches."
Fresno State (9-11, 3-5 WAC) improved to 2-1 on their current four-match road trip and added their second consecutive road win to their resume.
Korrin Wild, a freshman from Sanger, Calif., provided one of her most dynamic matches of the season for the Dogs and led the way with a career-best 17 kills.
"It is big to come into someone's house and get a win," Wild reflected on the road victory. We had great practices this week trying to get some wins on the road. Our back row and setters were making some passes to put us in position to get some great looks and be aggressive."
Senior Kelly Mason, one of the team's captains, made a match-high 18 digs and sophomore Marissa Brand notched her eighth double-double of the season on 14 kills and 17 digs to continue her chase for the WAC lead in double-doubles.
In the opening set, the Bulldogs' offensive explosiveness and gritty effort powered Fresno State to a 25-19 first set win. Wild's aggressive fire smoldered the Spartans in the opening set behind eight kills with no attacking errors while she recorded an impressive .615 percent attack efficiency. Brand, Clarke and Horton also delivered devastating kills to give the Dogs the early lead.
The dominating performance continued into the second set as Fresno State quickly jumped ahead 8-1 and extended their lead to 17-7 before finishing the back-to-back set victories with a 25-16 win. The 2-0 lead at the break marked the fifth time this season the Dogs won the first two sets of a match.
The Spartans regrouped in the locker room and picked up their fight en route to a 25-17 victory in the third set to cut the Bulldogs edge to 2-1.
The competitive battle inside Spartan Gym moved to a critical fourth set where the passion and attitude turned up the heat of the overcast Bay Area afternoon.
Wild's fight, Brand's power and the athleticism of the talented Bulldog roster stayed focused and pulled away for a 25-21 win in set four and earn the triumph.
At the halfway point of the season, Fresno State secured an important WAC road victory. The top six schools in the final WAC standings advance to the conference tournament Nov. 22-24 in Las Vegas' Orleans Arena. All-session tournament tickets are available through the Bulldog Ticket Office at Bulldog Stadium, by calling 559-278-3647 or online at www.gobulldogs.com.
"I like where we are going and our ability to compete with anyone in the conference when we play to our potential," Netherby-Sewell also noted.
Fresno State will complete their longest road trip of the year on Monday night at Boise State, who the Bulldogs defeated in a five-set thriller at the Save Mart Center on Sept. 25.
"We Are Your Team!" -- After a four-match road trip, the Bulldogs will celebrate Fresno State's Centennial on Oct. 28 versus Nevada and finish the homestand against Utah State on Oct. 30. Both matches start at 7 p.m. in the Save Mart Center.
