Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
UC Santa Barbara
`Dogs Renew Rivalry vs. Gauchos in Sacramento State Invitational
9/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The returning NCAA Tournament advancer won the first, second and fourth sets by 25-20 scores, while the `Dogs took the third set by the same margin in the 3-1 decision.
The returning Big West champions held edges in kills (63-48), hitting (.324-.226), assists (58-45), digs (51-46), blocks (11-7) and aces (7-6), while the `Dogs logged fewer service errors (5-9).
"It was hard to find our rhythm early today," Fresno State head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said. "We struggled offensively at first, and they served tough. Overall, we hit at a pretty high level by the end. We got out-defended which is unusual for us. We need to continue to get better defensively and hold teams from runs."
For the `Dogs, senior outside hitter Jaimee-Lee Morrow paced the team in kills (14) for the first time in her career. The Mooroolbark, Australia native's.346 hitting mark was also her best of the campaign and second straight +.300 total after she hit .333 with 16 kills vs. Sacramento State Friday night.
Junior outside hitter Zana Bowens connected on a team-season high five aces - a career high that moved her into a tie for third among four-set rally scoring matches with former All-WAC selections Christianna Reneau (2004) and Carrie Hartt (2003).
The Long Beach, Calif., native Bowens added 12 kills for her fourth straight double-digit tally of the season and eighth career-wise.
Freshman hitter Carly Scarbrough anchored the team from the right side for the second straight match. Her .360 hitting mark was a season high, while her 11 kills was her third double-digit tally of the year.
"I like what Carly adds offensively on the right side," Netherby-Sewell said, "and Jaimee-Lee Morrow hit well, too. I like where we're going offensively. It'll take some time with this team. We have so many newcomers and returnees playing bigger roles."
Senior Maci Murdock added four blocks to pace the squad for the third straight match (and fourth time in 2014), along with eight kills.
At setter, sophomore Brooke Legaux made her second straight start and logged 38 assists - her second-highest mark as a Bulldog. Her career-high 12 digs rounded out her first double-double, and she added the team's other ace and two blocks.
UCSB featured four hitters with +10 kills - Chanel Hoffman (15, .500), Britton Taylor (12, .391), Ali Barbeau (11, .200) and Jaylen Villanueva (10, .250). Other Gaucho category leaders included Ali Santi (27 assists), Phoebe Grunt (3 aces, 7 blocks), Barbeau (3 aces), Villanueva (7 blocks) and Hoffman (10 digs).
In the first set, the teams were tied five times between the ninth-16th points before a three-point UCSB run gave it a 19-16 advantage. Its 18th point, however, came courtesy of the Hornets Nest gym after an overhead venting duct kept an errant pass in bounds above the UCSB bench, and the overhead pass went for a kill. Moments later as UCSB served for the set, an illegal Gaucho substitution call took away two points and gave the `Dogs new hope. However, UCSB ended the set with three straight points on a pair of kills and block to win, 25-20.
In the second set, UCSB jumped out to a 6-2 lead, then used a 9-1 run to push out to an 18-6 advantage. Bowens sparked new life for Fresno State with an impressive nine-serve stretch that featured a pair of aces to pull the `Dogs within 19-15. Fresno State later pulled within, 21-19, after a pair of kills by Morrow and Murdock, but the Gauchos used a 6-1 answer in the 25-20 decision.
In the third set, the gym gave UCSB another point at 3-2 as the `Dogs celebrated an apparent kill, but as the errant UCSB pass drifted high off the backside of the court it hit a hanging light standard, and enabled a Gaucho pass that was free-balled over for a kill. That didn't stop the `Dogs from a five-point run that pushed the Fresno State lead to 8-2 behind senior defensive specialist Christina Lee. UCSB narrowed the lead to one point at 14-13 and 18-17, but a 5-1 `Dog run that featured a Scarbrough solo block, two Bowens aces and one of Murdock's four kills in the set pushed the lead to 24-19, and ultimately a 25-20 win.
In the fourth set, UCSB used a trio of three-point runs to take a 14-7 lead that featured three Gaucho blocks and four `Dog hitting errors. Another three-point UCSB stretch pushed its lead to 20-12, but Fresno State pulled back within 23-20 thanks to three Bowens kills and a block by Scarbrough and freshman middle blocker Lauren Torres. UCSB ended the rally with consecutive kills from Villanueva for a 25-20 win in the finale.
Looking ahead, the `Dogs cap tourney second and final-day action against Loyola Marymount (4-0) at 5:30 p.m.
The Lions have swept the Lions and Gauchos in the tournament, while Fresno State beat Sacramento State, 3-2, Friday evening.
More tournament information and a link to free online video broadcasts and live stats are available at the http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/wvball/2014-15/sacstateinvite14 URL address.
"Be Bold!" - Fresno State volleyball and football season tickets are on sale at the www.GoBulldogs.com website and at the Bulldog Ticket Office.
