Volleyball returns to host Utah State and Boise State

Utah State at Fresno State
Oct. 19, 2017 • 7:00 PM • Save Mart Center (3,333) • Fresno, Calif.
Video: Mountain West Network
Live: Live Stats on gobulldogs.com • Live Updates on Twitter (@FresnoStateVB)
Series History: Fresno State leads 16-13
Promotions:
• Greek Night - House with the most in attendance earns a cash prize
• Eating Contest

Boise State at Fresno State
Oct. 21, 2017 • 1:00 PM • Save Mart Center (3,333) • Fresno, Calif.
Video: Mountain West Network
Live: Live Stats on gobulldogs.com • Live Updates on Twitter (@FresnoStateVB)
Series History: Fresno State leads 20-15
Promotions:
• High School Day - All high schoolers receive FREE admission with valid student ID
• Jr. Bulldogs Club Day - One paid adult receives FREE admission for unlimited kids

Complete Weekly Release (PDF)

Scouting Utah State (12-8, 4-4 MW)
• Utah State started 3-0 in MW play but has lost four of its last five contests, including a 3-1 loss at Air Force in its last match. The lone win in the stretch was a 3-0 home sweep of Boise State.
• The Aggies are 4-3 on the road this season but 1-2 in road conference matches.
• In conference matches the Aggies lead the league with 1.61 service aces per set and with 15.04 digs per set. For the season Lauren Anderson leads the league in points and kills.
• On Sept. 23 in Logan, Anderson had 13 kills to lead the Aggies to a 3-1 win over the Bulldogs. Fresno State had a season-high 10.0 blocks in the second set of that match but totaled five blocks in the other three. Lauren Torres had seven kills and six blocks to lead the 'Dogs.
• The Bulldogs had four straight wins over the Aggies before Utah State won in September.

Scouting Boise State (11-9, 4-4 MW)
• Boise State has dropped four straight matches after opening MW 4-0. The Broncos had five-set losses to Colorado State and Wyoming but were swept by Utah State and Air Force last week.
• The Broncos were picked second in the preseason MW poll after reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016. Sierra Nobley was the preseason MW Player of the Year.
• Fresno State opened its conference schedule Sept. 21 at Boise State and took a 3-0 loss. Nobley missed the match due to illness but the Broncos still outhit the 'Dogs .297-.195.
• This season Nobley ranks sixth in NCAA Div. I with 4.80 kills per set and fifth in points per set. For the season the team leads the MW in kills, assists, and digs per set but is seventh in blocks.
• Boise State has won seven straight meetings with the Bulldogs dating back to 2014.

Happy Homecoming
• Playing in her home state, Aubrey Folk had a career-high 17 kills while hitting a season-best .406 last Saturday at New Mexico.
• The Aztec, N.M. native totaled 11 kills over the last two sets with six in the third set to help force the fourth. She had 11 kills and no errors in 21 swings over the last two sets for a .524 hitting percentage.
• The junior had nine kills at New Mexico last season, her first as a Bulldog after transferring from Tulane.

Going Long
• Fresno State has played seven straight matches that have gone longer than three sets. Of the team's 20 matches this season, 13 have gone four or more sets.
• Just one of the 'Dogs first eight MW contests was completed in only three sets. The team has played 33 sets in MW play, third most in the league and just one shy of the lead.

Block Party
• Fresno State leads the Mountain West and is 15th in NCAA Div. I with 210.0 blocks this season. The 'Dogs average of 2.69 blocks per set is also third best in the league and 25th in the nation.
• The Bulldogs have had the same or more blocks than their opponent in all but one Mountain West match, averaging 2.85 blocks per set in league play (second best in the MW behind only No. 20 Colorado State).
• Fresno State has recorded double-digit blocks in 12 matches this year, including six of the last seven, and has had more blocks than its opponent 11 times.
• Haile Watson and Lauren Torres are both averaging better than 1.10 blocks per set this season while Taylor Slover, Aubrey Folk, and Brielle Hefner average better than half a block. Seven Bulldogs have totaled double-digit blocks this year.

Crowded Mountain
• Entering the week just two of the 11 Mountain West teams have a winning record in conference play. No. 20 Colorado State is 8-0 and Wyoming is 6-2, but after that are three teams that are 4-4 and six that are 3-5 as the other nine teams keep beating each other.
• The two MW teams that the Bulldogs play just once this season happen to be the two teams with winning records atop the league.

Super Serving
• Freshman Sydney Lostumo is tied for the Mountain West lead with 14 service aces in conference matches. She is second with 0.42 aces per set in league contests.
• She has had at least one ace in seven of eight league matches and multiple aces four times. She tallied 11 aces during Fresno State's four-match homestand.
• Since making her collegiate debut starting in the 'Dogs MW opener at Boise State Lostumo has also averaged 5.24 assists and 1.27 digs per set.

Beating Tournament Teams
• Last week Fresno State picked up its second win this season against a 2016 NCAA Tournament Team. The 'Dogs 3-2 win in Las Vegas last Thursday was against a UNLV team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season with an at-large bid.
• The Bulldogs also had a 3-1 win over Alabama State earlier this season, beating a Lady Hornets team that won the SWAC last season to earn an NCAA bid.

6-2 Shift
• Fresno State changed to a 6-2 lineup in its last six matches and has seen strong results, specifically in hitting and serving.
• Madelyn Halteman and Sydney Lostumo split time as setter in the formation and have combined for 9.65 assists per set with 19 service aces. Both setters have averaged better than 4.25 assists per set and 0.25 aces per set.

Home Cooking
• Fresno State is 3-2 at home this season averaging 3.35 blocks per set on its home floor, tallying at least 12.0 blocks in four of the five matches.
• The 'Dogs have outblocked their opponents 67.0-34.0 at home while outhitting the opposition .214-.172 over 20 home sets.

Taylor Terrific
• Junior Taylor Slover put together one of the best matches of her career against San Jose State, hitting .514 with 21 kills and just two attack errors. She finished just shy of her career-high of 25 kills tallied in the 2017 season opener vs. Utah Valley.
• For the season Slover ranks ninth in the Mountain West averaging 3.87 points per set. She has led the team in kills in 11 matches, tallying double-digit kills 13 times.

Aces Aplenty
• After leading the Mountain West and ranking 15th in NCAA Div. I averaging 1.67 service aces per set last season, the 'Dogs are averaging 1.33 aces per set this year.
• The Bulldogs are averaging 1.65 aces per set at home this year after tallying 30 during their four-match homestand.
• Fresno State totaled 24 aces in its first three matches (10 sets) of the season while allowing just 13 aces from its opponents.

Success in the SMC
• Dating back to last season the Bulldogs have won five of their last seven home matches.
• The squad has had a winning home record in each of the last two years and in five of the last six seasons.

Big Blocking Set
• The Bulldogs tallied a season-high 10.0 blocks in the second set against Utah State.
• The total topped the 9.0 blocks that squad had in the second set among its program-record 21.0 blocks against CSU Bakersfield.
• Haile Watson and Taylor Slover each had four blocks in the set and Brielle Hefner had three as the Bulldogs forced a -.021 hitting percentage from the Aggies with 10 kills and 11 errors.

Brielle Hitting Well
• Junior Brielle Hefner has been a consistent offensive threat all season as she leads the team's outside hitters swinging .262 and is second with 2.64 kills per set.
• Hefner had her best match at San Francisco, recording a career-high 25 kills while hitting .404. She had 13 kills and no errors on her first 26 swings of the match as she more than doubled her previous career high of 12 kills and tied for the most kills by a Bulldog this season.

21 Jump Night
• On Sept. 5 Fresno State recorded 21.0 blocks, a program record for a three-set match and the highest three-set total recorded by a Div. I team this season.
• The Bulldogs broke the previous three-set program record of 15.0 blocks set against Hawaii in 2007. The squad came within one block of the overall program record of 22.0 blocks set in a four-set match
• The total was the highest for any Div. I match this season before Western Kentucky tallied 23.0 blocks in a five-set match. The 'Dogs had five blocks in the first set, nine in the second set, and seven in the third set.

Double Double-Doubles
• The Bulldogs have had two double-doubles in the same match twice the season.
• Madelyn Halteman and Taylor Slover each had double-doubles against both San Francisco and UNLV. Together the pair have all seven Bulldog double-doubles this year.

Big Time Blocker
• Junior Haile Watson became the first player in program history to tally 10 blocks in a three-set match, topping the previous record of nine achieved twice, on Sept. 5 vs. CSU Bakersfield. Watson had four solo blocks, including a stuff on match point, and six block assists to lead the Bulldogs.
• She has recorded at least five blocks in 12 matches this year and for the season she ranks sixth in the Mountain West with 1.21 blocks per set and is 38th in the nation with 94.0 total blocks.

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Volleyball returns to host Utah State and Boise State

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Players Mentioned

Aubrey Folk

Madelyn Halteman

Brielle Hefner

Sydney Lostumo

Taylor Slover

Lauren Torres

Haile Watson

Fresno State Athletics