Bulldogs outlasted by San Jose State in four sets

Saturday, September 30

Fresno, CA

1:00 PM

Fresno State

6-10, 1-3MW

San Jose State

11-4, 3-1MW

San Jose State

Fresno State

Bulldogs outlasted by San Jose State in four sets

9/30/2017 4:17:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

VIDEO: MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno State hit .450 and ran away with a 25-17 win in the first set but San Jose State came back to win the next three in a 3-1 (17-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22) victory on Saturday in the Save Mart Center.

Taylor Slover hit a season-best .514 with 21 kills to lead Fresno State (6-10, 1-3 MW), which hit a solid .327 and had eight service aces. The difference came down to defense as, after holding Nevada to .104 hitting with 13.0 blocks on Thursday, the Bulldogs tallied just 6.0 blocks on Saturday as the Spartans hit .405, the highest against the 'Dogs this season.

San Jose State (11-4, 3-1 MW) hit better than .420 in each of the last three sets while Nandyala Gama totaled 21 kills and no attack errors and hit .600 to lead the team. Slover was the only Bulldog to tally double-digit kills while Lauren Torres led with three blocks and Madelyn Halteman had 26 assists. SJSU had a 45-35 edge in digs and totaled six service aces.

How it Happened
The Bulldogs came out blazing to start the first set, jumping to a quick 10-3 lead. The 'Dogs hit .450 in the set with 13 kills and just four errors, but the Spartans got back within a two point deficit and trailed just 18-16. The Bulldogs answered with five straight points and ended the set with a 7-1 run, winning it on a Halteman service ace.

San Jose State hit .458 in the second set and led most of the way. The Bulldogs were within a 14-12 deficit but a 10-3 run gave the visitors nine set points. Fresno State saved three set points before San Jose State finished it with a Breann Robinson kill to level the match 1-1.

The third set would be the most evenly played with nine ties and three lead changes. SJSU hit a match-best .469 in the set but the Bulldogs hit .250 and had three blocks to stay close. Fresno State had a 14-10 lead before a 6-0 Spartan run flipped the score. The set was tied 18-18 before a 5-1 San Jose State run turned into a 7-3 spurt to win it.

The Spartans led for the entire fourth set despite the Bulldogs hitting .378 with only one attack error in the period. SJSU took a quick 6-1 lead and the Bulldogs never got closer than a two-point deficit the rest of the way. After the Spartans took a 23-18 lead Fresno State tallied three straight points but San Jose State reached match point at 24-21 and won it on its second attempt.

Quotable
Head Coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell

On the match: "Our offense was absolutely solid today, but sadly so was theirs. We came out serving so tough that they couldn't run their double quick offense. But In set two we slowed everything down and allowed them to get some momentum."

"We simply could not stop there slide. We've done a great job defensively all season at the net and today we were just off, but I like what we did offensively. I liked what we did from the service line for the majority of the match as well. We will be ready for those Aztecs on Tuesday."

Notable
Slover recorded the second 20-kill match of her career, finishing just shy of her career-high of 25 kills… Fresno State's .327 hitting percentage was its second best of the season behind only a .354 hitting percentage in its season-opening win over Utah Valley, which coincidentally was on San Jose State's home floor…Prior to Saturday the highest opposing hitting percentage against the Bulldogs this season was .318, by CSU Bakersfield, as San Jose State eclipsed that number by nearly 100 points...The loss ended a four-match home winning streak for the Bulldogs dating back to last season.

What's Next
The Bulldogs have two more home matches next week, starting with a Tuesday meeting with San Diego State at 7 p.m. followed by a match at 7 p.m. Thursday against Air Force.

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