Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Jose State
Volleyball Wins 2nd 5-Set WAC Thriller
9/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SAN JOSE - The Bulldogs volleyball team won its second straight Western Athletic Conference road match with a 25-17, 26-28, 25-17, 21-25 and 15-10 over San Jose State in a sultry Spartan Gym on Thursday night.
"I'm happy we pulled off another 5-set match on the road," fourth-year head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said. "Anytime you win twice away from home in conference play is important."
Fresno State (7-7, 2-0 WAC) displayed another strong team effort - led by sophomore Korrin Wild's second double-double (16 kills/13 digs) in the past three matches and junior setter Barbara Alcantara's fourth double-double (46 assists/12 digs) this year.
Freshman libero Christina Lee notched 15 digs and senior All-WAC honoree Brianna Clarke added nine blocks for the top marks in the match. Jaimee-Lee Morrow, who started alongside Wild at outsider hitter connected for career-high 13 kills - her third match in a row with double-digit kills.
"It came down to us serving tough," Wild noted. "We passed well throughout the night. So it had to do with us keeping the pressure on them. And when we did that, we shut them down."
After posting 3-2 road wins at Nevada and San Jose State to open WAC play, Fresno State is undefeated through its first two conference matches for the first time since 2003.
The 2-0 road mark to start a conference slate is also a significant mark for the `Dogs - who last accomplished that feat when they won at CSU Northridge and UTEP in 1995.
Fresno State and San Jose State engaged in a back-and-forth-battle all night, with the `Dogs winning the first, third and fifth sets. The Bulldogs are now 4-1 this year when they win the opening set.
However, Fresno State did need to dig deep late to secure its second conference road victory.
After falling behind 6-1 in the fifth set, the Bulldogs delivered eight unanswered points for a 9-6 lead. The Spartans scored the next three points to even the score at 9-9 before a long SJSU serve gave the momentum back to the `Dogs, which they carried to the 15-10 final set win.
"CC (Cecilia Agraz) and Lauren (Albertson) really came through for us in the fifth set - down 6-1," Netherby-Sewell said. "I'm really proud of their poise."
During the 14-4 run to close out the win, Fresno State's Albertson and Clarke landed two kills each while Agraz served out the match. Clarke also added three blocks in the final frame.
With the Bulldogs' aggressive serves, San Jose State struggled to counter offensively, except the fourth set when the Spartans hit .303, and made 10 reception errors.
"Our serving is streaky, but key," Netherby-Sewell said. "We'll look to improve our assertiveness and consistency there to debilitate our upcoming opponent's offense."
The Bulldogs' victory also extended their overall win streak to three - all without injured outside hitter Marissa Brand.
SJSU (5-10, 0-3 WAC) suffered a third-consecutive WAC loss as the Spartans fell in straight sets (3-0) on the road last week to Utah State and Idaho.
Fresno State will complete its three-match WAC-opening road trip at No. 11 Hawai'i on Saturday at 10 p.m. PT in Honolulu's Stan Sheriff Center.
"We Are Your Team!" - Stay connected with Fresno State Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@FSAthletics). The next chance to see the 'Dogs at home is Oct. 6 when they take on Louisiana Tech.
