Bulldogs edged by Oregon State to close play in Portland

Saturday, September 2

Portland, OR

12:00 PM

Fresno State

3-3

Oregon State

5-0

Fresno State

Oregon State

Bulldogs edged by Oregon State to close play in Portland

9/2/2017 3:37:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Fresno State put up a fight against Oregon State, recoding eight blocks in a thrilling third set, but the Pac-12 Beavers were able to complete a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-22) victory to conclude play on Saturday at the North Harbour Marriott Invitational in Portland.

Fresno State (3-3) forced 10 Beaver attack errors in the third set, but Oregon State (5-0) hit .333 in the first set and .517 in the second set, combining for just four attack errors in the first two sets, en route to the win. The Bulldogs outblocked the Beaver 10-9 for the match but were held to .067 hitting.

Haile Watson had a team season-high six blocks, five of which came in the third set, and she hit .571 with four kills. Lauren Torres led Fresno State with nine kills while contributing three blocks while Brielle Hefner and Taylor Slover also had three blocks. Madelyn Halteman contributed 25 assists, four digs, and a block and Jacqueline Hutcheson had a match-high 15 digs.

How it Happened
Oregon State came out swinging, jumping to a quick 7-0 lead as the Bulldogs had to fight from behind in set one. Fresno State battled back to within a three-point deficit and trailed 11-8 but could not get any closer. The Beavers had just one attack error in the first set, hitting .333, but the 'Dogs had a 12-10 edge in kills. Oregon State did have three blocks and two aces and held Fresno State to .049 hitting.

The Beavers hit .517 in the second set with 18 kills and just three errors. Fresno State had just four attack errors but had just nine kills. The Bulldogs trailed 20-14 but went on a 3-0 run with a Watson ace bringing the team within a 20-17 score. OSU came back with a 4-0 run of its own, however, and took the set 25-18.

After Oregon State scored the first three points of the third set, the Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run with four blocks to take their biggest lead of the match at 7-3. The Bulldogs maintained their lead to 15-13 and the set would be tied at 19-19. OSU, which was held to .054 hitting in the set, had a 4-0 spurt and reached match point at 24-20, but an attack error and a block from Watson and Aubrey Folk made it 24-22 and the Beavers called timeout. Oregon State would win the match out of the timeout as the 'Dogs had a service error.

Quotable
Head Coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell

On the match: "We proved we can play with anyone, but we have to do the little things well. Oregon State was as physical as we were but they took advantage of opportunities we did not."

On the third set: "In set three we adjusted defensively and held them to a .054 hitting percentage. I really liked our determination, but though we took some really nice swings at the ball today, they dug everything. We couldn't get anything going from our pins."

Notable
Hutcheson was named to the North Harbour Marriott All-Tournament team after averaging 4.36 digs per set with three service aces over three matches...The Bulldogs recorded double-digit blocks for the second consecutive match after tallying a season-high 12.0 blocks against Portland on Friday…Torres became the first Bulldog other than Slover to lead the team in kills in a match this season.

What's Next
Fresno State returns home to host CSU Bakersfield Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Save Mart Center.

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