Fresno State Athletics
Saturday, November 5
Fresno, Calif.
1:00 PM
Fresno State
13-12, 4-10MW
3
vs
1
San Diego State
14-13, 6-7MW
1
2
3
4
F
San Diego State
25
26
20
27
1
Fresno State
23
28
25
29
3
Photo by: Kiel Maddox
Bulldogs defeat Aztecs in four-set thriller
11/5/2016 4:24:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FRESNO, Calif. - Behind three Bulldogs with double-figure kills, the Fresno State volleyball team gutted out three hard-fought sets on Saturday to defeat San Diego State 3-1 at the Save Mart Center. The individual set scores were 23-25, 28-26, 25-20, 29-27 as the 'Dogs picked up their fourth Mountain West victory of the season.
"The first set was a very tight one," said head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell after the victory. "We weren't defending very well out of the gate. We had our chances and I thought that our defense started to pick up a little bit, but if we could get that rolling a little earlier in the set we would have a better shot. We weren't siding-out terribly well in the second set, but we were defending a lot better, so we were taking care of the ball a lot more. We stared blocking some good balls and made them start hitting out of bounds. It was a little bit of an up-and-down, ugly offensive battle on both sides, but I thought our defense did a nice job."
Fresno State (13-12, 4-10 MW) was led offensively by outside hitter Aleisha Coates with 13 kills as the senior posted a double-double adding a season-high 14 digs. Coates also had three solo blocks, two service aces and an assist. Junior Lauren Torres and sophomore Taylor Slover each had 10 kills apiece as Slover finished with a season-best and matched her career-high. Defensively, the 'Dogs had 14 team blocks; their second-highest total this season as sophomore Haile Watson matched her season-best with eight block assists. Senior Maggie Eppright led the 'Dogs with 18 digs and redshirt freshman Madelyn Halteman added 11 as the 'Dogs had three players finish with double-figure digs for the first time all season.
"I liked the way Lauren Torres played today," added Netherby-Sewell. "She wanted the ball and wanted to get her kills, but they were keying on her so we had to change it up. We had some people step up when it really mattered. We had some nice efforts. Taylor Slover was doing a nice job on the right side. Again, I think this came down to a defensive battle. We served phenomenally today and I think that is probably why we won this match."
San Diego State (14-13, 6-7 MW) also finished with three players with double-figure kills as Deja Harris had a game-high 17 and Alexandra Psoma and Alexis Cage added 14 each. The Aztecs totaled 62 kills and had a .156 hitting percentage as a team. Defensively, SDSU had 74 digs, the most by a Bulldog opponent this season, as Devyn Pritchard led the way with 19 and Danielle Bolden added 13.
After dropping the final two points in the opening set to fall 25-23, the 'Dogs rebounded in the second set to win a hard-fought battle 28-26 and knot the match at one apiece. The Bulldogs led 22-17 before five straight points by the Aztecs tied the set as ties at 23, 24, 25 and 26 followed before a kill by Coates and a service ace by Eppright gave the 'Dogs their first set win over their last nine sets.
After a short intermission, the 'Dogs came out in the third set and jumped out to a 10-6 lead on their way on their way to winning 25-20 and taking a 2-1 lead. The Bulldogs looked to make quick work of the fourth set taking a commanding 17-9 lead before a 10-2 run by SDSUÂ tied the set at 19 apiece. With the set locked at 25 each, the 'Dogs fought off two straight set points for the Aztecs with a pair of kills by Torres before the 'Dogs locked up the win with a kill by Coates and an attack error by Harris.
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"San Diego State is always a tough team to play," added Netherby-Sewell. "Whether we win or lose, we play them very tight at home. It was nice to get that win, especially in four sets. What I liked about our team today was that we battled and found a way to win those points at the end of the sets."
The Bulldogs return to action on Thursday when they travel to Boise State (20-6, 11-2 MW) for a 6:30 p.m. PT contest.
Mountain West Scoreboard
Nevada 3, at San Jose State 0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-22)
at Wyoming 3, UNLV 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-17)
New Mexico at Colorado State
Air Force at Utah State
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateVB
Instagram:Â FresnoStatevball
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat:Â FSAthletics
"The first set was a very tight one," said head coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell after the victory. "We weren't defending very well out of the gate. We had our chances and I thought that our defense started to pick up a little bit, but if we could get that rolling a little earlier in the set we would have a better shot. We weren't siding-out terribly well in the second set, but we were defending a lot better, so we were taking care of the ball a lot more. We stared blocking some good balls and made them start hitting out of bounds. It was a little bit of an up-and-down, ugly offensive battle on both sides, but I thought our defense did a nice job."
Fresno State (13-12, 4-10 MW) was led offensively by outside hitter Aleisha Coates with 13 kills as the senior posted a double-double adding a season-high 14 digs. Coates also had three solo blocks, two service aces and an assist. Junior Lauren Torres and sophomore Taylor Slover each had 10 kills apiece as Slover finished with a season-best and matched her career-high. Defensively, the 'Dogs had 14 team blocks; their second-highest total this season as sophomore Haile Watson matched her season-best with eight block assists. Senior Maggie Eppright led the 'Dogs with 18 digs and redshirt freshman Madelyn Halteman added 11 as the 'Dogs had three players finish with double-figure digs for the first time all season.
"I liked the way Lauren Torres played today," added Netherby-Sewell. "She wanted the ball and wanted to get her kills, but they were keying on her so we had to change it up. We had some people step up when it really mattered. We had some nice efforts. Taylor Slover was doing a nice job on the right side. Again, I think this came down to a defensive battle. We served phenomenally today and I think that is probably why we won this match."
San Diego State (14-13, 6-7 MW) also finished with three players with double-figure kills as Deja Harris had a game-high 17 and Alexandra Psoma and Alexis Cage added 14 each. The Aztecs totaled 62 kills and had a .156 hitting percentage as a team. Defensively, SDSU had 74 digs, the most by a Bulldog opponent this season, as Devyn Pritchard led the way with 19 and Danielle Bolden added 13.
After dropping the final two points in the opening set to fall 25-23, the 'Dogs rebounded in the second set to win a hard-fought battle 28-26 and knot the match at one apiece. The Bulldogs led 22-17 before five straight points by the Aztecs tied the set as ties at 23, 24, 25 and 26 followed before a kill by Coates and a service ace by Eppright gave the 'Dogs their first set win over their last nine sets.
After a short intermission, the 'Dogs came out in the third set and jumped out to a 10-6 lead on their way on their way to winning 25-20 and taking a 2-1 lead. The Bulldogs looked to make quick work of the fourth set taking a commanding 17-9 lead before a 10-2 run by SDSUÂ tied the set at 19 apiece. With the set locked at 25 each, the 'Dogs fought off two straight set points for the Aztecs with a pair of kills by Torres before the 'Dogs locked up the win with a kill by Coates and an attack error by Harris.
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"San Diego State is always a tough team to play," added Netherby-Sewell. "Whether we win or lose, we play them very tight at home. It was nice to get that win, especially in four sets. What I liked about our team today was that we battled and found a way to win those points at the end of the sets."
The Bulldogs return to action on Thursday when they travel to Boise State (20-6, 11-2 MW) for a 6:30 p.m. PT contest.
Mountain West Scoreboard
Nevada 3, at San Jose State 0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-22)
at Wyoming 3, UNLV 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-17)
New Mexico at Colorado State
Air Force at Utah State
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateVB
Instagram:Â FresnoStatevball
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat:Â FSAthletics
Team Stats
SDSU
FS
Kills
62
47
Errors
36
27
Attempts
167
162
Hitting %
.156
.123
Points
73.0
71.0
Assists
61
45
Aces
4
10
Blocks
7.0
14.0
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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