Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State Takes Second in Bulldog Showdown
9/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
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FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State volleyball team took second place as the tournament host of the Bulldog Showdown, falling 3-1 to Sacramento State and edging Central Michigan 3-0 on Saturday at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs went 3-1 on the weekend and currently own a 6-5 overall record looking ahead to the Fresno State Classic (Sept. 18-19).
"The last two matches of this tournament we really hung in there and stayed tough and aggressive when we needed to be," head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said. "I'm proud of the effort, Central Michigan is a tough team and has some great athletes so we had to play hard. Our motto is outwork, outthink and outplay so we have to outwork teams all the time, we have to hustle, we have to talk, we have to communicate and they're starting to do those things more consistently. When Central Michigan was pushing us and kept the pressure on we stayed tough and I'm happy with that."
Offensively, junior Aleisha Coates logged a team-high of 14 kills while senior Zana Bowens trailed by only two against Sacramento State. Defensive specialist, Jacqueline Hutcheson made her first start of the season against the Hornets and recorded her second highest career figure in digs (10).
Behind libero Maggie Eppright who had 20 digs, Bowens helped the ‘Dogs to a second-best of 16 while starting setter Brooke Legaux owned 20 assists before senior Jelena Jovanovic made her fifth appearance of the season. Jovanovic logged a season second-best 10 assists against the Hornets on Saturday.
In what was the ‘Dogs second game of the day and the final match of the tournament, Fresno State topped Central Michigan in three consecutive sets with Coates leading the team offensively setting a new personal game-high of 15 kills in 29 attempts (.345). Defensively, Eppright accounted for 17 of the team's 47 digs during the three-set shutout.
From the service line, Fresno State had seven aces against Sacramento State and six versus Central Michigan as Coates led the team with a combined total of four. Posing as an offensive threat for the ‘Dogs on Saturday, Coates tallied 35 points with 61 in 14 sets played during the two-day slate.
At the conclusion of the five-team Bulldog Showdown, Sacramento State (4-0) took first place, Fresno State (3-1) claimed second, Central Michigan (1-3) placed third, UC Riverside (1-2) came in fourth and Cal State Fullerton (0-4) took fifth. Hornet middle blocker, Madeline Cannon was named the Most Valuable Player and libero Lexie Skalbeck earned All-Tournament honors along with Central Michigan's Jordan Bueter while Scarbrough and Coates represented Fresno State.
"Carly and Aleisha were clear All-Tournament picks," Netherby-Sewell added. "They were something special this weekend and really held us together offensively. Carly is just outstanding on the right side, she's one of the best we've had in this program and she's still young so I think she'll get better every year. Aleisha was really struggling in the first two tournaments, she's trying to find herself in this program and get comfortable, and I think she did this weekend. Tonight she was making smart plays, working hard and staying steady. If we can have that the rest of the season, it's going to be good."
The Bulldogs host back-to-back tournaments as the Fresno State Classic is slated to get underway Friday, Sept. 18. The two-day event features two out of state opponents, Portland and Southern Utah, and California local UC Davis, with four games slated on day one and the final two on Saturday, Sept. 19.
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