First place Bulldogs host New Mexico Saturday

New Mexico (11-8, 5-2 MW) at Fresno State (13-6, 5-1 MW)
Oct. 13, 2018 • 1:00 PM PT • Save Mart Center (3,333) • Fresno, Calif.
Watch: MW Network
Live: Live Stats • Live Updates on Twitter (@FresnoStateVB)
Series History • Streak: New Mexico leads 14-12 • FS W 1
Promotions:

Annual Bulldog Food Drive
Fans who bring canned food to be donated will get FREE admission
All donations will go directly to the Fresno State Student Cupboard
Participate in the 1000 Fan Challenge – if we hit 1000 fans in attendance, everyone in attendance will receive free admission to Saturday evening's Fresno State Football game vs. Wyoming

Complete Weekly Release (PDF)

Bulldog Bones
• Fresno State is 5-1 in the MW for the first time with its best overall conference start since 2003
• Sophomore libero Reagan Leonard leads the MW averaging 4.91 digs per set this season
• Fresno State is one of just four NCAA Div. I schools in California averaging over 1,000 fans per game
• In MW matches Fresno State leads the league in opponent hit pct (.137) and digs per set (15.86)
• Fresno State has won the first set in 14 of 19 matches this year and is 12-2 in those 14 matches

Scouting New Mexico (11-8, 5-2 MW)
• New Mexico had a four-match winning streak snapped at San Diego State on Thursday. The Lobos played four of their first six MW matches at home and beat UNLV (3-1) at home with road losses at Boise State (3-0) and at San Diego State (3-1).
• The Lobos are 5-2 in 5-set matches this year with narrow 3-2 wins over Air Force and Nevada. For the season New Mexico ranks in the bottom three in the MW in kills, assists, aces, and digs.
• Victoria Spragg leads the MW hitting .391 in league matches and Lauren Twitty is fourth with 3.71 kills per set in the MW. New Mexico was picked fifth in the preseason MW Coaches' Poll.
• The Lobos and Bulldogs split two matches last season with each team winning at home.

Top of the Mountain
• After starting 5-1 in the MW for the first time since joining the conference in 2012, the 'Dogs are the only 1-loss team in the league and stand alone in first place in the conference standings.
• Fresno State has its best overall conference start since the 2003 team began WAC play 7-1.
• Fresno State tied for the best start to conference play in program history, matching a 4-0 start in 2001 as a member of the WAC.
• The 'Dogs have achieved their historic start while beating three of the top four teams in the preseason MW Coaches Poll.

Home Cooking
• Dating back to the 2016 season the Bulldogs have won 15 of their last 19 home matches.
• Fresno State was 7-3 at home last season and is 6-1 in the Save Mart Center so far this year.
• The squad has had a winning home record in each of the last two years and in five of the last six seasons.

First Set Success
• Fresno State has won the first set in 14 of 19 matches this year and is 12-2 when winning the first set and 1-4 when losing it.
• The 'Dogs have won the first set in all six MW matches but have won the second set in just two MW matches thus far.

On Service
• Fresno State had 11 service aces vs. New Mexico on Thursday, its most this year in a MW match, after totaling just three aces in two road matches last week.
• The service game has been a big factor in Fresno State's success this year as the team is 9-0 when leading in aces but 4-6 when trailing its opponent in aces.
• The 'Dogs are averaging 1.63 aces per set in their 13 wins compared to 1.04 aces per set in the six losses.

Getting Defensive
• The Bulldogs have held their six MW opponents to .137 hitting, the best among all teams by .015 thus far in conference play.
• In the 3-0 sweep of Utah State last week the 'Dogs held the Aggie to -.045 hitting (22 kills- 27 errors), the first time the 'Dogs have ever limited a MW opponent to a negative hitting percentage since joining the league.
• In MW matches the 'Dogs also lead the league with 15.86 digs per set, averaging over one and a half per set more than any other team, and are second with 2.68 blocks per set.

Super Support
• Fresno State is one of just four NCAA Div. I schools in California averaging more than 1,000 fans per match and has a higher average home attendance than UCLA, Cal, and two more Pac-12 schools, among others.
• The 'Dogs have topped 1,000 fans in four home matches with a season-high crowd of 1,583 for Fresno State's home opener vs. local rival Fresno Pacific.

Stepping Up
• Senior Aubrey Folk has been a big factor in the 'Dogs early MW success as she has thrived with increased playing time.
• Folk is second on the team with 2.95 kills per set and third with 0.90 blocks per set while hitting .304 in conference play after averaging just 1.78 kills and 0.37 blocks per set in the 13 Bulldog non-conference matches.
• Folk has totaled just 14 attack errors in 148 swings in MW games. She has had double-digit kills in four of the last five matches and recorded five blocks in two league matches.

She Can Dig It
• Sophomore Reagan Leonard leads the MW averaging 4.91 digs per set this season and has been named MW Defensive Player of the Week twice this year.
• Leonard's current digs per set average would be the second best in a season in program history as she has totaled double-digit digs in all 19 matches with nine 20+ dig matches.
• In just her second career start at libero, Leonard broke the single-match program record with 38 digs in the 'Dogs 3-1 win at Eastern Illinois. Her total was one dig better than the previous record of 37 digs, set by Mounia Nihipali vs. San Jose State in 2004.

Better Blocking
• Fresno State has had the same or more blocks than its opponent in 14 of 19 matches this year, averaging 2.32 blocks per set while allowing only 1.91 opponent blocks per set.
• The Bulldogs are 11-2 this year when having the same or more blocks than their opponent but 1-4 when trailing in blocks.
• In MW play the Bulldogs are outblocking their opponents 2.68-2.00 per set.

Two Wins and a Baby
• Over three days Sept. 27-29, first year Fresno State head coach Jonathan Winder not only defeated the top two teams in the MW poll but also had the birth of his third child.
• Sandwiched between the Wyoming match on Sept. 27 and the Colorado State match on Sept. 29, Winder and his wife, Jaimie-Rose, had a planned C-section on Sept. 28 and welcomed their third child, a healthy boy named Hayes Patrick Winder.

All Around Star
• For the second consecutive season senior Taylor Slover is leading the 'Dogs in kills per set (3.52) and points per set (4.11), and this year she is also second on the team with 22 service aces and second with 2.57 digs per set.
• Slover recorded double-doubles in each of the first three MW matches and is tied for second in the league with 10 double-doubles this year.
• Slover has recorded double-digit kills in 16 of 19 matches and double-digit digs in 10 matches while also contributing 36 blocks.

Going Long
• Fresno State has played at least four sets in 13 of 19 matches this season with five 5-set matches. The team is playing just under four sets per match on average.
• The Bulldogs have played 75 sets this year with nine sets that have gone to extra points.

Winning on the Road
• The Bulldogs are 4-2 in true road matches this season, already surpassing their road win total last year in which the team finished 3-12 in road contests.
• With two road MW wins the Bulldogs have already matched their total for the last two years, in which the 2016 and 2017 teams combined to go 2-16 in road MW matches (both were 1-8).
• The last time the 'Dogs ended the season with an overall winning road record was 2013, when they finished 7-5, and the team's best MW road record was 5-5 in 2013.

Taking Down Goliath
• Fresno State knocked off 14-time MW champion Colorado State, 3-1, on Sept. 29, beating a Rams team that was receiving votes in the AVCA poll after being ranked No. 25 earlier this year, has won the MW in eight of the last nine seasons, and has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 23 consecutive seasons.
• The 'Dogs took down the Rams behind strong defense, posting a 13.0-5.0 edge in blocks to hold CSU to just .170 hitting, and solid serving with eight aces to six errors while the Rams had five aces and 11 service errors.

Historic W's
• Fresno State ended two long losing streaks in its record start to MW conference play.
• The 'Dogs opened MW play with a 3-0 sweep at San Diego State, the first Bulldog road win over the Aztecs since Sept. 24, 1999.
• Fresno State's victory over Colorado State was its first over the Rams since Oct. 11, 2012, ending a nine-match losing streak in which the 'Dogs won just two total sets and were swept seven times.

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First place Bulldogs host New Mexico Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Aubrey Folk

Reagan Leonard

Taylor Slover

Fresno State Athletics