Bulldogs outlast Spartans in four, now 8-1 in MW

Saturday, October 20

San Jose, Calif.

2 P.M. PT

Fresno State

16-6, 8-1MW

San Jose State

9-10, 4-6MW

Fresno State

San Jose State

Bulldogs outlast Spartans in four, now 8-1 in MW

10/20/2018 5:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

SAN JOSE, Calif. – In a match with 35 ties and 15 lead changes, Fresno State junior setter Madelyn Halteman totaled 52 assists, 13 digs, four aces, four blocks, and three kills to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-1 (27-29, 25-15, 27-25, 25-21) victory at San Jose State on Saturday.

Fresno State (16-6, 8-1 MW) has its best start to conference play in program history and continues to lead the league standings. The 16-6 overall record for the 'Dogs is their best record through 22 matches since 2003. San Jose State (9-10, 4-6 MW) forged at least 10 ties in three of the four sets and was able to take the first set before losing in four.

Halteman had a four-set career high in assists and tied her career high in aces while leading the team to a .258 hitting percentage in the match. Haile Watson hit .478 with 12 kills and a match-high seven blocks while Taylor Slover (16 kills), Aubrey Folk (14 kills), and Kava Durr (11 kills) also totaled double-digit kills. Senior Emily Dzubak had a Fresno State career-high 19 digs and Reagan Leonard totaled 17.

How it Happened
The marathon first set had 11 ties and five lead changes. Fresno State led 10-6 early while the largest San Jose State lead came at 23-20. The 'Dogs battled back to tie it at 24-24 and would save four set points, earning one of their own with a 27-26 lead. The Spartans scored the next three points, though, as a kill, a block, and another kill by Haylee Nelson gave the Spartans the set.

The second set was also close early on before the 'Dogs went on a massive 13-1 run to end it. San Jose State led 14-12 before Halteman led the 'Dogs to nine straight points. The setter had a kill and two aces as the 'Dogs pulled ahead 21-14. San Jose State's only point during the run came on a service error, as the 'Dogs came back with four more straight points with a kill and two aces from Slover to win the set 25-15 (watch).

Set three was a lot like set one as there were 10 ties and five lead changes and neither team led by more than four points. The Spartans hit a match-best .364 in the set but the 'Dogs hit .333 and had a 3-0 edge in blocks. Fresno State had set points at 24-23 and 25-24 but couldn't finish. With the set tied at 25, Durr had a kill and Slover followed with her 14^th kill of the day to give the 'Dogs the set (watch).

In the fourth set, both teams hit below .200 and the Spartans jumped to a 16-11 lead before the 'Dogs had a 6-1 run to tie it at 17-17. Fresno State trailed 20-19 before ending the set (and match) with another 6-1 run. The Bulldogs reached match point with an incredible defensive play and a kill from Folk, off an assist from Watson (watch), and won the match on a Spartan attack error (watch).

Notes

Fresno State is 4-1 in MW road matches with four to play. The program record for road MW wins is five.
The first set was the longest set the 'Dogs have played this year. The team has now had 11 sets this year that have gone to extra points.
With 16 wins this season Fresno State already has its most victories since winning 17 matches in 2013.
With nine regular season matches remaining the 'Dogs have already surpassed 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 dropped the first set for the second time this week after starting MW play with seven straight first-set wins. The 'Dogs dropped the opening set for just the seventh time in 22 total matches this year.
The Bulldogs have had the same or more blocks than their opponent in 17 of 22 matches this year, going 15-2 in those 17 matches.
Watson moved to seventh place in program history in career blocks as she now has 348 in just three seasons as a Bulldog.

Quotes

Head Coach Jonathan Winder

On the weekend…
"This weekend was tremendous to see our team prove our identity in who we are and what we do. It is tough to do what we did on the road against two good teams."

On the play of the team…
"We played consistent throughout both matches in almost every phase of the game. I am very proud of the growth on and off the court in our ability to play the game and in our togetherness as a team. Everyone has continued to improve individually and thus we continue to improve collectively."

On some of the standouts of the weekend…
"This weekend Emily was fantastic in the back row and serving for us, Haile was again dominant at the net with her blocking and hitting and Maddy did a great job of running our offense while contributing in big ways with her blocking, serving and digging."

What's Next
The Bulldogs continue on the road next week in what has historically been the toughest MW road trip, playing at Wyoming on Thursday and Colorado State next Saturday. Reigning MW champion Colorado State is second in the MW with an 8-2 conference record while Wyoming is third at 7-3. The 'Dogs beat both the Rams and Cowgirls in Fresno earlier this season.

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