Bulldogs fall at Boise State in MW opener

Thursday, September 21

Boise, ID

6:30 PM PT

Fresno State

5-8, 0-1MW

Boise State

8-5, 1-0MW

Fresno State

Boise State

Bulldogs fall at Boise State in MW opener

9/21/2017 9:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

BOISE, Idaho – Defending Mountain West champion Boise State opened its title defense at home on Thursday and outlasted Fresno State 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-21) in the conference opener for both teams.

Playing its 13^th match of the season and 12^th away from home, Fresno State (5-8) fought hard after the Broncos came out strong in the first set and made the second and third highly competitive. The 'Dogs had a 6.0-3.0 edge in blocks for the match but Boise State (8-5) had a .297-.195 hitting advantage and had 16 more kills than the visitors.

Freshman Sydney Lostumo made her Fresno State debut as the starting setter and tallied 29 assists and six digs while adding a block, a kill, and a service ace. Taylor Slover led the Bulldogs with 10 kills and three blocks while Aubrey Folk had eight kills and Brielle Hefner had five with two blocks.

How it Happened
Boise State used an 8-0 run to pull away early in the first set. The Broncos hit .387 with 16 kills and just four errors while holding the 'Dogs to nine kills and .192 hitting. After Boise State led 20-8 the Bulldogs outscored the Broncos 6-5 the rest of the way and saved two set points before going down 25-14.

The Bulldogs took that momentum into the second set and led for most of it, going up by as much as a 14-8 advantage. Taylor Slover had five kills in the set and the 'Dogs still had an 18-15 lead, but a 6-0 Boise State run put the home team ahead 21-18. BSU reached set point at 24-20, but the 'Dogs had two kills and a block to make it 24-23. Out of a timeout Janell Walley was able to win the set for the Broncos with a kill.

Fresno State held Boise State to just .182 hitting in the third set and, after trailing 9-4 early, got within a 17-15 deficit. The Broncos moved back ahead to a 23-17 lead, but consecutive kills from Folk and Slover followed by a pair of BSU attack errors got the 'Dogs down just two points at 23-21. After a Boise State timeout the home team reached match point on a Bulldog service error and finished the win on a kill from Kiley Lewis.

Quotable
Head Coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell

On the match: "It was tough out of the gate – it was very loud and Boise came out hot. We had opportunities to take sets two and three. We started finding a rhythm defensively but our serving was brutal. We simply couldn't earn runs because of the errors and easy balls. Our serving has to get better, but we played hard and aggressively otherwise."

On the team: "Sydney Lostumo had a nice debut. She had to come out and run the floor against the MWC champs on the road and that's not easy. Brielle stayed solid and I loved Gertu Vider's performance off the bench as she came off and got some things done."

On what's next: "We move on to Utah State. Getting one win off this road trip would be a success for sure."

Notable
Fresno State entered the match ranked third in the MW with 1.42 aces per set but totaled just one on Thursday with eight service errors (the two teams combined for three aces and 15 service errors)…Boise State played without OH Sierra Nobely, the reigning Mountain West Player of the Year, as the senior missed the first match of her career with the flu.

What's Next
Fresno State moves on to face Utah State in Logan at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday before returning home for its Mountain West home opener against Nevada next Thursday in the Save Mart Center.

"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: @FresnoSta teVB
Instagram: FresnoStatevball
Facebook: FresnoStateVB