Fresno State Athletics
Dogs Pound LA Tech
11/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 6, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - Junior Brianna Clarke's match-best 15 kills and .560 hitting efficiency helped the Fresno State volleyball team complete a season sweep of Louisiana Tech with a 3-0 victory in Ruston on Saturday evening.
Fresno State (11-14, 5-8 WAC) won in straight sets (25-22, 25-17 and 25-18) for the fourth time this year and improved to 16-3 against Louisiana Tech (12-17, 1-11 WAC) in the all-time series between the Western Athletic Conference schools.
"This win was a must so we're pleased with the accomplishment," head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said after the match. "It's always impressive to beat a team twice, especially in their town. It was a good Saturday for Fresno State in Ruston."
Fresno State also defeated Louisiana Tech 40-34 in football behind a school-record rushing performance by Robbie Rouse and the soccer team will compete for a WAC championship on Sunday afternoon in Ruston after winning twice earlier this week.
The volleyball weekly "Fighting Spirit" Award went to Clarke and seniors Kelly Mason and Meghan Moss.
"Kelly and Bri practiced and competed hard, consistently," Netherby-Sewell noted of the special award. "They give us the same efforts no matter the day, score or team. Moss is amazing. She's lost her opportunity to play because of injury, but she practices serving, follows team rules, cheers on her teammates and makes daily efforts to recover. She's a great role model."
Clarke's power from the middle and the leadership of the senior class will be critical over the last three matches of the WAC regular season play.
The fierce fight for one of the last spots is set to be decided over the next few weeks and Fresno State maintains a slight edge over Boise State, who picked up an upset 3-1 win on the road at Nevada earlier Saturday, for the sixth and final spot in the WAC Tournament.
While both the Bulldogs and Broncos sport 5-8 records against conference opponents, Fresno State holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping Boise State in both matches this season.
The Bulldogs will host No. 5 Hawai'i on Thursday night, visit Idaho on Nov. 15 and return home to the Save Mart Center to honor Fresno State's four graduating seniors (Mason, Moss, Lauren Berger and Kasey Van Grouw) on Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Save Mart Center.
We Are Your Team! --- Fresno State will look to snap the No. 5 Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine's 37-match WAC winning streak on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the Save Mart Center. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and youth and free for Fresno State students.
