Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
Bulldogs Smash Broncos in Another Thriller
10/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
FRESNO, Calif. - In the second five set thriller of the season between the Bulldogs and Broncos on the volleyball floor, Fresno State dug deep and smashed Boise State for the fourth straight time with a 3-2 road win (25-18, 19-25, 19-25, 25-21 and 15-13) to move into sole possession of fifth place in the Western Athletic Conference standings.
Fresno State (10-11, 4-5 WAC) improved their WAC-best mark this year in five-set matches to a perfect 4-0 record, extended their winning streak to three straight with all the victories coming on the road and completed a season sweep in back-to-back years against the Broncos.
"This was an awesome match and very fun to coach," head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said. "Our team has so much fight in them and they're just tapping into it."
The Bulldogs' Marissa Brand and Kelli Parker led the way on offense. Brand, a sophomore, tied a career-high with 23 kills for her third straight double-double and ninth of the season by adding 15 digs. Parker converted 13 kills over the final three sets. Senior Kelly Mason recorded a season-best 24 digs, one shy of her career-best mark of 25 in three previous matches earlier in her Fresno State career, and senior setter Kasey Van Grouw tossed up a season-best 45 assists.
"The group was most proud to win a team fighting spirit award," Netherby-Sewell added. "It was a total group effort and we are excited to get home. It's a great night."
Fresno State grabbed an early lead with the 25-18 victory in set one, but needed to mount a fearless comeback after dropping the second and third sets by the score of 25-19 in each set.
With the Dogs down 11-6 in the fourth set, one of Parker's 13 kills started a 13-8 Fresno State run to even the set at 19-19. Parker added three more down the stretch to secure the fourth set win 25-21 and force the deciding fifth set
A nail-biting back-and-forth battle ensued in Fresno State's fourth fifth set of 2010 and the Bulldogs finished strong by winning the final three points, including Parker's match winner, to remain undefeated in five set thrillers.
The Dogs completed their longest road trip of the year with a 3-1 clip, including wins at Boise State, CSU Bakersfield and San Jose State while the lone loss came at No. 5 Hawai'i.
Boise State dropped 17-9 on the season and 4-6 against WAC opponents. The Broncos had entered the match 48 spots higher than Fresno State in the national RPI. BSU's Alisha Young and Sadie Maughan both surpassed the double-digit kills plateau with 19 and 16 kills, respectively. Boise State is now in sixth place in the WAC.
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.
The next chance to see the Bulldogs will be on Thursday night for a Centennial and Alumni Celebration against WAC rival Nevada at 7 p.m. in the Save Mart Center.
"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.
