Fresno State Athletics
Pink Out Match Capped in 3-0 Sweep
10/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. -The Fresno State volleyball team swept Nevada on Thursday for the annual Breast Cancer Awareness pink out night at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs own a 10-8 overall record and are 2-2 in the regular season, currently ranking fifth within the 11-team playing field.
"I thought we were very steady in this match," head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said. "We seem to keep getting better and better and are finding ways to win. Even when we are down we keep climbing our way up. I am really happy with our progress as a team, they are young but seem to mature each and every practice. I think it was a pretty good performance, especially against a team that is strong at the service line."
Fresno State was coming off a 1-1 mark during last week's Rocky Mountain run, after grasping its first conference win over Utah State (3-1), prior to falling 3-2 against Boise State. Nevada had most recently upset previously ranked Wyoming (3-2), and entered Thursday's action with a 2-2 conference record, one place ahead of the Bulldogs in the Mountain West rankings.
The `Dogs jumped to an early 1-0 lead over the Wolf Pack, owing the first set 25-23. Nevada held the upper hand at the start of set two as they made a six point run before Fresno State rallied back to record the second set win of the night (25-21). The Bulldogs closed out the match topping their opponent 25-17, and tallying the seventh 3-0 sweep of the season.
Overall, Fresno State was the category leader in hitting percentage (.213), setting percentage (.348), service aces (5), serving percentage (.964), digs (43) and blocks (19), while Nevada owned the match-high in kills (38), assists (33) and total receptions (64).
Offensive standout Zana Bowens had a team-high 10 kills, logging her fifth consecutive match with a double-digit kill figure. The senior hit .273 while averaging 3.33 kills per set against Nevada. Bowens additionally led the team from the service line with three aces, tying her season-best against Georgia State.
Additional offensive contributions were Carly Scarbrough and Aleisha Coates who combined for 16 of Fresno State's 35 kills, helping the `Dogs to a team hitting percentage of .213 on Thursday. Starting setter Brooke Legaux averaged 5.33 assists per set, leading the team with 16 total assists against the Wolf Pack.
Defensively, freshman Taylor Slover logged a season-high of six blocks, adding to the team's total of 19, while accounting for the lone solo block of the night. Fresno State featured five Bulldogs who had a multi-block showing, including Slover, Scarbrough, Coates Jelena Jovanovic and Gertu Vider.
"We really came together and played like a team tonight," Coates said. "It was a good feeling to come out and finish the job against such a strong team. It's really great having Carly [Scarbrough] in front of me, and now we have Jelena [Jovanovic] in the front row, who has been a pretty good block as well which is really making it easier for us in the back row."
Four games into conference play, Fresno State sports a top three ranking in assists (192), kills (217), blocks (35) and service aces (24) while junior libero Maggie Eppright continues to paces the league in overall digs (333) this season.
The Bulldogs own the all-time record of 24-23 against Nevada, after entering the 2015 season tied. The two programs have faced off in all but 16 years since 1971 and consecutively competed in two or more matches against each other since 2000. Last season, Fresno State fell in five sets at home and were edged 3-1 on the road in November.
Up next, the Bulldogs return to the Save Mart Center to face San Diego State (4-13, 1-4 MW) on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m. The Aztecs rank second to last in the most recent conference standings after falling 3-1 to UNLV on Thursday.
The Bulldog volleyball program will welcome former players for the annual Alumnae Day on Saturday, Oct. 10 as the `Dogs host the Aztecs at 1 p.m. Homecoming weekend continues as Fresno State football takes on Utah State later that evening at Bulldog Stadium.
"We have to keep doing the same things," Netherby-Sewell said. "We'll have a short practice tomorrow, get rested and look to keep progressing. If we play the way we did tonight and go in with a good game plan, then it should be a good game on Saturday."
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