Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Portland State
Undefeated Bulldogs set to host Bulldog Showdown
9/1/2016 4:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Bulldog Showdown
Location: Fresno, Calif.
Arena: Save Mart Center (3,333)
Sponsor: Deli Delicious
Live Online Stream: MW Network (Play-by-play: Amy Gill)
SlingTV/Verizon Go90Â Â -Â Friday Fresno State Games
Sling TV delivers the Best of Live TV with the simplicity of an app. Instantly stream over 100 live channels and an extensive library of on-demand entertainment on your favorite device, at home or on the go.   Sling TV offers two individual streaming services: Sling Orange and Sling Blue.  The Mountain West Network on Campus Insiders games are available in the Sports Extra pack on both the Orange and Blue Services, on the Campus Insiders channel. Go90 is a free mobile application for Verizon customers in the United States. While anyone can download the go90 app, only Verizon customers will be able to watch the Campus Insiders games. Fans can download go90 from the iOS app store or the Google Play Store. Once downloaded, live games will live on Campus Insiders, found under Networks, under each respective sport heading.
Friday, Sept. 2
Fresno State vs.Portland State -- 10:30 a.m. (HUGEÂ BREAKFAST BURRITO GIVEAWAY)
Portland vs. DePaul - 12:30 p.m.
Portland State vs. Portland - 5:00 p.m.
Fresno State vs. DePaul - 7:30 p.m. (HS students get in free with ID)
Saturday, Sept. 3
DePaul vs. Portland State -- 10:30 a.m.Â
Fresno State vs. Portland -- 12:30 p.m. (Social Media Madness - Fans get in FREE for following or liking social media accounts)
Click HERE for the Bulldog Showdown Tournament Page which includes live stats and Mountain West Network links.
For a complete list of gameday promotions, check out the promotional page on GoBulldogs.com.
Bulldogs Open Season with four-game East Coast sweep
The Fresno State volleyball team opened its 53rd season in strong fashion last weekend going a perfect 4-0 to get off to its best start since 2002 when the 'Dogs started the season 6-0. After the 'Dogs were pushed to five sets in their opener against LIU Brooklyn, they came back with back-to-back-to-back sweeps over Boston College, Hartford and New Hampshire.Â
It was the first time since 2013 that the 'Dogs have swept three straight opponents since sweeping UNLV, San Jose State and Nevada in its first year of play in the MW. It is also the first time since 2013 that the 'Dogs have won four straight matches.Â
A look at the Bulldog opponents
Fresno State will open the Bulldog Showdown with a Friday morning tilt against Portland State. A member of the Big Sky, this will be the two teams ninth meeting all-time as the Vikings have won all eight previous matches. The two programs last met on Sept. 28, 1985, one of three meetings that season and they also met three times in 1980. Â
After going 9-19 in 2015, PSU is off to a 2-1 start to the season picking up a 3-1 win over Long Beach State and a 3-2 win over Colorado before dropping a four-set decision to Texas Tech. Â The Vikings, led by 10th-year head coach Michael Seemann, were led by outside hitter Pati Anae in the opening weekend as the senior led the team with 65 kills, 138 attacks aearning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors. Caitlin Bettenay and Eva Linden have added 35 and 34 kills, respectively.
The 'Dogs will play the second of their two matches on Friday in primetime against Big East foe DePaul. This will be the third all-time meeting between the 'Dogs and Blue Demons as Fresno State sports a 2-0 all-time record against DePaul. The Bulldogs won four-set battles at home over DePaul in 1994 & 1996.
Coming off a 16-15 mark in 2015, DePaul went 1-2 at the Northern Illinois Invitational this past weekend defeating Loyola Chicago in its opener in four sets before dropping matches to Northern Illinois & Iowa. The Blue Demons are led by seventh-year head coach Nadia Edwards and feature a pair of California natives on its roster. Right side hitter Brittany Maxwell leads the Blue Demons with 36 kills and a team-best .271 attack percentage. Lexi Chanos has a club-high 31 digs and Colleen Smith has 81 assists.
The Bulldog Showdown will wrap up on Saturday afternoon with a match against Portland. A member of the West Coast Conference, the Pilots and Bulldogs have met five times with the 'Dogs leading the series 3-2 despite Portland claiming a four-set victory at last season's Fresno State Classic. The 'Dogs swept the Pilots in 2013 at the Portland Nike Invitational and also claimed victories in 1985 and 1993.
The Pilots posted a 16-15 overall record and a 6-12 mark in the WCC in 2015. Portland comes into this weekend with a 2-1 mark after dropping its seaon opener to Seattle in four sets, but rebounded to top Oregon State in five sets and sweep Mountain West foe Utah State. Led by third-year head coach Brent Crouch, junior outside hitter Hannah Troutman has a team-high 41 kills and 111 kils. Monica Gajda has 68 digs while Cali Thompson has 127 digs. The Pilots have doubled their opponents in aces with 34 compared to only 17 for its foes as Thompson leads the way with nine and Troutman has added seven.
Home  Openers Under Netherby-Sewell
The Bulldogs are 4-4 in home openers under Netherby-Sewell with wins in 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2013. The 'Dogs dropped a hard-fought five-set battle to Cal Poly in their home opener in 2015, but were able to post a 9-8 mark at the Save Mart Center to achieve a winning home record for the fiftth time under Netherby-Sewell.Â
Coates named Deli Delicious Student Athlete of the Week
Senior outside hitter Aleisha Coates picked up her first career Student-Athlete of the Week honor after finishing the 'Dogs four-game road trip with a team-high 52 kills and 147 attacks. She earned the BC Invitational MVP for her play in the 'Dogs first two games and currently ranks second in the MW in points (63) and third in kills (52).Â
Halteman makes strong Bulldog debut
After redshirting the 2015 season, setter Maddy Halteman made her Bulldog debut this past weekend finishing the four games with 145 assists for an average of 10.36 assists per set. She ranks second in the MW in number of assists only trailing Air Force's Sarah Hellman and is third in average assists per set.Â
Eppright leads 'Dogs in digs
A year after setting the single-season program record for digs and earning All-Mountain West honors, Maggie Eppright picked up where she left off leading the 'Dogs in digs with 55 to rank fourth in the conference and is ninth in average digs per set at 3.93.
Three more 'Dogs make debuts
In addition to Halteman, three more 'Dogs made their debuts as transfers Haile Watson and Aubrey Folk along with freshman Courtney Johnson each saw plenty of court time this past weekend. Watson and Johnson each played in all 14 sets as Watson finished with 28 kills and had a team-high 14 blocks while Johnson added 22 digs. Folk appeared in six sets and had 11 kills and added four blocks.
Fighting Spirit AwardÂ
The Fighting Spirit Award was introduced to the Fresno State volleyball program by Netherby-Sewell in 2008. The award originated at Hofstra by Hall of Fame coach Fran Kalafer, and is presented to the individual or team who best defeats adversity each week and collectively at the season's end.
2016 Weekly Honors: Boston College Invitational & Hartford & New Hampshire -- Team
"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. For a limited time, fans who purchase volleyball season tickets receive two complimentary tickets to the Bulldog football home opener on Sept. 10 against Sacramento State.
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