Bulldogs outlast Rebels in five sets in Las Vegas

Thursday, October 12

Las Vegas, NV

6:00 PM

Fresno State

8-11, 3-4MW

UNLV

6-14, 2-5MW

Fresno State

UNLV

Bulldogs outlast Rebels in five sets in Las Vegas

10/12/2017 9:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Playing its second consecutive five-set match, Fresno State hit a match-best .421 in the fifth and came away with a 3-2 (25-20, 25-27, 27-25, 15-25, 15-8) win at UNLV on Thursday night.

Taylor Slover and Madelyn Halteman both had double-doubles for Fresno State (8-11, 3-4 MW) while the Bulldogs had a 16.0-12.0 block advantage and a 76-67 edge in digs. UNLV (6-14, 2-5 MW) came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits but hit just .067 in the fifth set as the Bulldogs pulled out the road win.

Slover had 19 kills and 10 digs and Halteman finished with 35 assists and 12 digs as well as three service aces. Brielle Hefner had 13 kills and a career-high six blocks while Lauren Torres tied her career high with a match-high nine blocks. Haile Watson had 10 kills and six blocks hitting .467 and Jacqueline Hutcheson had a match-high 22 digs.

How it Happened
The Bulldogs held the Rebels to .000 hitting in the first set with 8 kills and 8 attack errors. Fresno State had 14 kills in the opening set and led throughout, taking a quick 8-3 lead and leading the rest of the way. With a 23-20 lead the Bulldogs got a block from Aubrey Folk and Torres followed by Hefner's fifth kill of the set to take a 1-0 lead.

Fresno State started the second set much like the first and led by as much as a 17-9 margin. Trailing 19-12, UNLV went on a 9-2 run to tie the set at 21-21. The Rebels had set points at 24-23 and 25-24 but both times committed service errors. With it tied up at 25-25 Thea Sweder had consecutive kills to win the set for the Rebels.

Slover took over in the third set with six kills. The Bulldogs trailed 17-13 before Slover had three kills in a 6-0 run in which the 'Dogs took a 19-17 lead. UNLV came back to tie it and dodged one set point at 25-24 with a block, but Hefner had a kill followed by Slover's sixth of the set to win it 27-25.

UNLV put together its best set in the 4th, hitting .367 while holding the Bulldogs to a .065 hitting percentage. The Rebels scored the first four points of the set and led by at least two points the rest of the set. The 'Dogs were down 18-8 and had a 5-2 run but couldn't get any closer.

Slover led the charge again in the fifth set with five kills among the team's 15 points. The Bulldogs opened with a 4-0 lead and led by at least two over the rest of the set. Fresno State reached match point after a kill from Torres and won it on a kill from defensive specialist Reagan Leonard.

Head Coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell

On the match: "I'm so proud of our aggressiveness in set five. We made a real change in the way we approached it and they came through."

On the team: "We had really nice leadership by Maddy, Jacque and Taylor tonight. Jacque dug a lot of balls and served tough. Taylor swung high and smart. It was fun to see our DS Reagan get the match winning kill! Good win on the road."

Notable
The win was the second this season for the Bulldogs against a team that made the NCAA Tournament last year (Alabama State)...The Bulldogs recorded at least 12 blocks for the fifth time in the last six matches…Fresno State won the first set for the 12th time in 19 matches this season…The match was the sixth straight for the Bulldogs that went longer than three sets.

What's Next
Fresno State concludes a brief road trip at New Mexico at 1 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday.

"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.

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