Fresno State Athletics
Volleyball Announces Spring Schedule
3/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
March 25, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State women's volleyball team has been inside the North gym, working hard in their spring season of training. During this time of the year there is an emphasis put on individual improvement. It is a period of preparation for the 2010 season. Along with individual work, the Bulldogs will also participate in four spring tournaments. From the end of March through the month of April the Bulldogs will take on and compete against several top teams from around California.
"Last spring we had a wonderful training strategy that we assumed we'd repeat in 2010," said head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell. "As usual with evolving teams, our needs change so our strategy must too evolve. We made a decision to focus on three primary skills this off-season: floor defense, passing and serving. Without strength in these skills, consistency will be hard to find. It was a perfect time to make this bold decision (which leaves out offense, strategy, setting and blocking), because we graduated both of our setters after the 2009 season. In our upcoming indoor tournaments against formidable opponents from the Pac-10, WCC, Big West and Big Sky among others - we might struggle to pull of wins without a true quarterback; but we will see remarkable improvements in our serving game, defensive efforts and ball control."
Spring play for the Bulldogs kicks-off in San Diego March 27. Teams competing in the San Diego State Tournament include: host San Diego State, University of San Diego, San Diego Alumni and Southern Methodist. All matches are free to attend and open to the public. The schedule for the tournament is as follows:
9 a.m. Fresno State vs. University of San Diego
10 a.m. Fresno State vs. San Diego State
1:30 p.m. Fresno State vs. San Diego State Alumni
3:15 p.m. Fresno State vs. Southern Methodist
The volleyball team last played the University of San Diego Sept 12, 2003 losing the match in four sets. The Bulldogs are winning the overall series against the Toreros 6-4.
The `Dogs last faced host San Diego State on September 17, 2004. The Bulldogs won the match in three sets, however; San Diego State has the upper hand on the `Dogs leading the overall series 9-22-2.
This will be the 12th time the `Dogs will face Southern Methodist on the volleyball court. The Bulldogs lead the overall series 11-1 with their last match being October 23, 2004 when the Bulldogs were victorious in three sets. During this time the Western Athletic Conference was split into Western and Eastern Division and this match counted as a WAC regular season match. SMU now competes in the Conference USA.
The Bulldogs will then head north to Sacramento, Calif., for their second tournament of the spring season. On April 10th Sacramento State will host the `Dogs and other teams from around California. They will compete against: the University of Pacific, Cal, Sacramento State and Sonoma State. All matches are free to attend and open to the public. The schedule for the tournament is as follows:
10 a.m. Fresno State vs. UOP
11 a.m. Fresno State vs. Cal
1 p.m. Fresno State vs. Sac State
3 p.m. Fresno State vs. Sonoma State
For the second year in a row the Bulldogs will participate in a sand tournament down South in Santa Monica, Calif. Beach training and tournaments are becoming increasingly popular for indoor teams. The Bulldogs participated in their-first ever beach volleyball tournament last year in Long Beach, Calif., and are continuing with it this spring. The schedule has not yet been released for the event but will be held on April 17th. Stay updated on gobulldogs.com for further information on the tournament.
"You can't put a price on the value of the sand tournament in Santa Monica," Netherby-Sewell added. "Besides the obvious benefits with regards to fitness, balance and power - a two-person game rapidly increases our players volleyball IQ and forces them into the mindset that takes them beyond being a one-contact player. As an added benefit, the team and staff are re-energized by getting outdoors and enjoying a full day of competition against very talented volleyball players from Southern California."
To wrap up its spring competition the Fresno State volleyball team will be hosting a tournament on April 24th in the North Gym on the Fresno State campus. The teams participating in the tournament include: Cal Poly, Fresno Pacific, San Francisco State and the University of the Pacific. The tournament will be all day and the event will be free and open to the public. The complete schedule will be released at a later date.
"We Are Your Team" - Stay updated on gobulldogs.com for limited results and recaps at the conclusion of each tournament. For ticket information click on the icon on the top of the page.
