Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Jose State
Bulldogs Edged in Four by Spartans
10/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Fresno State volleyball team opened the second round of Mountain West play falling 3-1 to San Jose State on Saturday at Spartan Gym. The Bulldogs (12-11, 4-5 MW) will return to the Save Mart Center on Thursday to take on Boise State (14-7, 6-3 MW) at 7 p.m.
"We had some bright moments but ultimately we lost two of the four close sets to tentative behavior which does not match the expectation of our Bulldog culture," head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said. "It was certainly tough not having Zana [Bowens] for this match - she adds so much experience, stability defense and ball control - but we found ways to cover that and step up."
Fresno State was coming off a two game win streak after capping the first round of conference with a five-set victory over UNLV on Tuesday. Of the nine games left in the 2015 season, Fresno State will host five with a 2-2 record at home.
San Jose State sports a 12-10 overall record and is 4-6 in the regular season with three wins coming at Spartan Gym. Earlier this season, Fresno State competed against the Spartans in a five-set season opener (Sept. 24) that ended in a 3-2 decision in San Jose State's favor.
Sabrina Winslow earned her second collegiate start on Saturday, as fellow freshman middle blocker Gertu Vider made her fourth game start for the Bulldogs.
Saturday's action began evenly matched until Fresno State managed to pull ahead at 5-4, gaining the upper hand for the remainder of set one while outscoring the Spartans 25-23. Offensively, Winslow and outside hitter Carly Scarbrough tied with a high of five kills each while Aleisha Coates and Vider contributed a pair of blocks.
For the fifth time during the 2015 regular season, Fresno State battled its opponent past regulation while falling 29-27 to the Spartans in set two after tying on 14 occasions and making a five-point comeback attempt.
Following a short intermission, San Jose State opened the third set of the day with an early eight point advantage and gained a 2-1 lead as the ‘Dogs faced a 10-point deficit.
San Jose State made a three-point run at the start of set four and remained ahead before the ‘Dogs rallied back to tie it up at 24-24. Despite a 26-24 loss, Fresno State outhit the Spartans with the second highest percentage of the day (.184) while logging 11 of its 15 blocks in the final set.
"I think our middles did a nice job for us," Netherby-Sewell added. "Aleksandra came in and got us a much-needed run from the service line. Maggie, Aleisha and Jacqueline worked hard on defense and passed well for us. Jacqueline served tough and played aggressive which helped stabilize our play in three rotations. We move onto next week and prepare to face another team we played tough against just weeks ago."
Freshman Taylor Slover made her first appearance of the match in the second set and accounted for a pair of kills on her initial two attempts. Additional freshmen contributors included middle blocker Jordyn Griggs with five kills and one block over two sets, and outside hitter Aleksandra Simeonova who made her first collegiate appearance in the fourth set against the Spartans. Fresno State took the lead on a four-point run with Simeonova at the service line.
Scarbrough, Coates and Torres led the Bulldogs offensive effort with double-digit kill figures, combining for 37 of the team's 59 kills in 110 attempts while setters Brooke Legaux and Jelena Jovanovic each posted 20 or more assists.
Defensively, libero Maggie Eppright, Jacqueline Hutcheson, Winslow and Coates helped the ‘Dogs with more than 10 digs each while Torres paced the team with five blocks on Saturday.
From the service line, Winslow accounted for her second career service ace and Eppright helped the Bulldogs to its 45th ace coming in the regular season.
Since 1973, the Bulldogs and Spartans have competed in 81 matches with 31 coming in the last 15 years. San Jose State owns an all-time mark of 49-32 over Fresno State, after accounting for three victories over two seasons. Since joining the league in 2013, the Bulldogs have logged a record of 3-3 versus the Spartans.
Fresno State returns home next week to take on Boise State on Thursday, Oct. 29 and Utah State on Oct. 31 at the Save Mart Center. Following a road trip in the first week of November, the ‘Dogs will have a three-game home stand while gaining the home court advantage one last time on Nov. 18.
"Be Bold!" - Follow Fresno State Volleyball on Twitter (FresnoStateVB), Instagram (FresnoStatevball), Facebook (FresnoStateAthletics) and YouTube (FresnoStateAthetics).
