First-place Bulldogs earn MW road win at Nevada, 3-1

Thursday, October 18

Reno, Nev.

6:30 P.M. PT

Fresno State

15-6, 7-1MW

Nevada

8-12, 1-8MW

Fresno State

Nevada

First-place Bulldogs earn MW road win at Nevada, 3-1

10/18/2018 10:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

RENO, Nev. – Fresno State dominated at the net with a 13-6 edge in blocks and battled back from a slow start to record a 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-11) victory over Nevada on Thursday night in Reno.

Fresno State (15-6, 7-1 MW) remains atop the MW standings and has tied for best start to conference play in program history, matching a 7-1 record by the 2003 team as member of the WAC. The Bulldogs improved to 3-1 in road MW matches and 5-2 overall on the road this season and won at Nevada (8-12, 1-8 MW) for the first time since 2013.

Haile Watson led the 'Dogs with seven blocks and seven kills while Aubrey Folk had five blocks and eight kills. Taylor Slover had her best hitting match in conference play with 16 kills on a .317 hitting percentage and had six digs and two service aces. Jessica Gilbert and Kava Durr both contributed nine kills and Reagan Leonard had a match-high 20 digs.

How it Happened
Fresno State rallied after losing the first set for the first time in conference play. Nevada led for virtually the entire set and outhit the 'Dogs in the opening period, taking a 10-5 lead and extending to a 16-9 advantage. Fresno State battled back to trail just 21-18 but the Wolf Pack were able to finish off a 25-21 win.

The Bulldogs led for the majority of the last three sets. In the second set the 'Dogs took the early 10-5 lead and pulled away in the middle of the set, winning a pair of challenges to jump ahead 20-14. Nevada nearly came all the way back, getting within a 22-21 disadvantage, but the 'Dogs ended the set with three straight points culminating with a block by Watson and Durr.

The third set was similar to the second as the 'Dogs had a big early lead before Nevada battled back. Fresno State led by as large as a 20-11 advantage but the Wolf Pack had a 10-4 run to trail 24-21. Slover was able to end the set with her 11^th kill of the night to put the 'Dogs up 2-1.

Fresno State opened up a huge lead in the fourth set and Nevada never made it close. The visitors turned an early 6-3 lead into a 17-6 advantage as Nevada had a -.108 hitting percentage in the period with just 8 kills and 12 attack errors. The 'Dogs reached match point at 24-8 and won it 25-11 on a Nevada service error.

Notes

With 15 wins this season Fresno State already has its most victories since winning 17 matches in 2013.
The 'Dogs have matched their conference win total from last season, when they finished 7-11. The program record for MW wins is 11, set in 2013.
Fresno State had won the first set in each of its first seven MW matches. The 'Dogs dropped the opening set for just the sixth time in 21 total matches this year.
The Bulldogs have had the same or more blocks than their opponent in 16 of 21 matches this year, going 14-2 in those 16 matches.
Fresno State had lost its last four matches in Reno.

What's Next
The Bulldogs return to California to play at San Jose State on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Spartans are 9-9 overall and 4-5 in MW play after defeating San Diego State, 3-2, on Thursday night.

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