Fresno State Athletics
Thursday, October 13
Fresno, Calif.
7:00 PM
Fresno State
11-7, 2-5MW
3
vs
2
Air Force
9-11, 0-7MW
1
2
3
4
5
F
Air Force
30
26
19
20
12
2
Fresno State
28
24
25
25
15
3
'Dogs rally to take down Air Force in five sets
10/13/2016 10:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FRESNO, Calif. - Behind a career-high 24 kills from senior outside hitter Aleisha Coates, the Fresno State volleyball team rallied from down two sets to none to defeat Air Force in a five-set thriller at the Save Mart Center on Salute to Services Night.
After dropping the first two sets by scores of 30-28, 26-24, the 'Dogs responded winning the final three sets 25-19, 25-20, 15-12.
"The team came out really shaky to start the match," said head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell postgame. "Normally we come out pretty solid in the first set, so that was new for us. I think the team has been questioning a lot in the last few matches because we have lost a lot of really close matches. So now we are starting to get a little bit tense, and we stop talking to each other. We weren't playing our volleyball in the first two sets at all."
"We changed things up coming out of the break in the third; we let our freshman setter go all the way around in the third and just got into a better rhythm. We continued to keep fighting. Air Force played well and served us really tough. Otherwise it was just us and we had to work through our mental struggles in this match. I am proud of them for coming back and staying steady to win the final three sets."
Fresno State (11-7, 2-5 MW) totaled 63 kills as a team in the match, one shy of a season-high, as Coates led the way with 24. Junior Carly Scarbrough added 11 kills and Lauren Torres totaled 10 kills and five block assists. Redshirt freshman Madelyn Halteman had 46 assists and the duo of Maggie Eppright and Jacqueline Hutcheson combined for 33 of the 'Dogs 64 digs. The Bulldogs posted their fourth straight match with double digit blocks finishing with 10 as a team.Â
Air Force (9-11, 0-7 MW) had three players finish with double digit kills as Elizabeth Pennington led the way with 19 and Abigail Miksch and Denise Ssozi added 13 and 12, respectively. Sarah Hellman had 37 assists and the duo of Savannah Banyai and Ssozi combined for 34 of the Falcons 61 digs.
After dropping the first two sets in nail-bitting fashion, the 'Dogs came out of the break with a new attitude and quickly found their offensive groove building a 19-13 lead after a quick 5-1 run broke open a two-point lead. Â The Falcons cut the lead to three twice before the Bulldogs scored five of the final seven points in the set to stay alive claiming the set 25-19. The Bulldogs posted a .630 attack percentage as a team in that set with 18 kills, including eight by Coates, totaling only one error and had a 75% (15-20) sideout percentage.
The 'Dogs jumped out to a 14-8 lead to start set four after a pair of errors by Air Force. A 9-2 run by the Falcons gave the visitors a 17-16 lead, but a kill by Coates tied the set at 17. After ties at 18,19 and 20, Fresno State won the final five points of the set to win 25-20 and force a decisive fifth set.
The Bulldogs took a 8-7 lead to start the fifth set and after the teams traded sides, the Falcons tied the match at 11 apiece forcing a Fresno State timeout. The 'Dogs responded with back-to-back kills by Torres and Scarbrough to take a 13-11 advantage and force a Air Force timeout. The Falcons answered with a kill by Pennington to cut the 'Dogs lead to 13-12, but the 'Dogs got a kill by Torres and a ball handling error by Hellman to seal the win.
Fresno State is back in action on Saturday taking on Boise State (14-6, 5-2 MW) at Clovis North High School at 1 p.m. It is Community Day and admission is free.
"We have got to shake off whatever this is that has got us tight," added Netherby-Sewell. "Hopefully this win will show us that we can take three sets back-to-back-to-back. Fresno State vs. Boise State is always a tough, exciting match. I am hoping that we let loose and do our thing. It is a team we match up really well against. We are playing it at Clovis North High School and the match is free to the public, so we are hoping it will just get packed with high schoolers and the community. We are excited to make it our own little Bulldog gym."
Mountain West Scoreboard
at Colorado State 3, Nevada 0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-16)
at Wyoming 3, San Diego State 2 (25-19, 25-19, 24-26, 27-29, 15-13)
at Utah State 3, New Mexico 1 (25-23, 25-27, 25-18, 25-19)
Boise State 3, at San Jose State 0 (25-14, 28-26, 25-18)
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – Season tickets, mini plans and single-game tickets for the 2016 Fresno State football season are now on sale at GoBulldogs.com or by calling 559-278-3647. 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes is the official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateVB
Instagram:Â FresnoStatevball
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat:Â FSAthletics
After dropping the first two sets by scores of 30-28, 26-24, the 'Dogs responded winning the final three sets 25-19, 25-20, 15-12.
"The team came out really shaky to start the match," said head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell postgame. "Normally we come out pretty solid in the first set, so that was new for us. I think the team has been questioning a lot in the last few matches because we have lost a lot of really close matches. So now we are starting to get a little bit tense, and we stop talking to each other. We weren't playing our volleyball in the first two sets at all."
"We changed things up coming out of the break in the third; we let our freshman setter go all the way around in the third and just got into a better rhythm. We continued to keep fighting. Air Force played well and served us really tough. Otherwise it was just us and we had to work through our mental struggles in this match. I am proud of them for coming back and staying steady to win the final three sets."
Fresno State (11-7, 2-5 MW) totaled 63 kills as a team in the match, one shy of a season-high, as Coates led the way with 24. Junior Carly Scarbrough added 11 kills and Lauren Torres totaled 10 kills and five block assists. Redshirt freshman Madelyn Halteman had 46 assists and the duo of Maggie Eppright and Jacqueline Hutcheson combined for 33 of the 'Dogs 64 digs. The Bulldogs posted their fourth straight match with double digit blocks finishing with 10 as a team.Â
Air Force (9-11, 0-7 MW) had three players finish with double digit kills as Elizabeth Pennington led the way with 19 and Abigail Miksch and Denise Ssozi added 13 and 12, respectively. Sarah Hellman had 37 assists and the duo of Savannah Banyai and Ssozi combined for 34 of the Falcons 61 digs.
After dropping the first two sets in nail-bitting fashion, the 'Dogs came out of the break with a new attitude and quickly found their offensive groove building a 19-13 lead after a quick 5-1 run broke open a two-point lead. Â The Falcons cut the lead to three twice before the Bulldogs scored five of the final seven points in the set to stay alive claiming the set 25-19. The Bulldogs posted a .630 attack percentage as a team in that set with 18 kills, including eight by Coates, totaling only one error and had a 75% (15-20) sideout percentage.
The 'Dogs jumped out to a 14-8 lead to start set four after a pair of errors by Air Force. A 9-2 run by the Falcons gave the visitors a 17-16 lead, but a kill by Coates tied the set at 17. After ties at 18,19 and 20, Fresno State won the final five points of the set to win 25-20 and force a decisive fifth set.
The Bulldogs took a 8-7 lead to start the fifth set and after the teams traded sides, the Falcons tied the match at 11 apiece forcing a Fresno State timeout. The 'Dogs responded with back-to-back kills by Torres and Scarbrough to take a 13-11 advantage and force a Air Force timeout. The Falcons answered with a kill by Pennington to cut the 'Dogs lead to 13-12, but the 'Dogs got a kill by Torres and a ball handling error by Hellman to seal the win.
Fresno State is back in action on Saturday taking on Boise State (14-6, 5-2 MW) at Clovis North High School at 1 p.m. It is Community Day and admission is free.
"We have got to shake off whatever this is that has got us tight," added Netherby-Sewell. "Hopefully this win will show us that we can take three sets back-to-back-to-back. Fresno State vs. Boise State is always a tough, exciting match. I am hoping that we let loose and do our thing. It is a team we match up really well against. We are playing it at Clovis North High School and the match is free to the public, so we are hoping it will just get packed with high schoolers and the community. We are excited to make it our own little Bulldog gym."
Mountain West Scoreboard
at Colorado State 3, Nevada 0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-16)
at Wyoming 3, San Diego State 2 (25-19, 25-19, 24-26, 27-29, 15-13)
at Utah State 3, New Mexico 1 (25-23, 25-27, 25-18, 25-19)
Boise State 3, at San Jose State 0 (25-14, 28-26, 25-18)
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – Season tickets, mini plans and single-game tickets for the 2016 Fresno State football season are now on sale at GoBulldogs.com or by calling 559-278-3647. 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes is the official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateVB
Instagram:Â FresnoStatevball
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat:Â FSAthletics
Team Stats
AF
FS
Kills
57
63
Errors
32
32
Attempts
165
165
Hitting %
.152
.188
Points
78.0
82.0
Assists
50
60
Aces
9
9
Blocks
12.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills
24
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
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