Bulldogs to face Wyoming and Colorado State on the road

Fresno State (16-6, 8-1 MW) at Wyoming (15-7, 7-3 MW)
Oct. 25, 2018 • 5:30 PM PT • UniWyo Sports Complex (1,200) • Laramie, Wyo.
Video: MW Network
Live: Live Stats • Live Updates on Twitter (@FresnoStateVB)
Series History • Streak: Wyoming leads 16-13 • FS W 3

Fresno State (16-6, 8-1 MW) at Colorado State (16-6, 8-2 MW)
Oct. 27, 2018 • 12:00 PM PT • Moby Arena (8,745) • Fort Collins, Colo.
Video: MW Network
Live: Live Stats • Live Updates on Twitter (@FresnoStateVB)
Series History • Streak: Colorado State leads 14-9 • FS W 1

Complete Weekly Release (PDF)

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State has its best conference start in program history and leads the MW with a 8-1 record
The 'Dogs are 4-1 in MW road matches after a combined 2-16 road MW record the last two seasons
In MW matches Fresno State leads the league in opponent hit pct (.149) and digs per set (16.03)
The Bulldogs beat both Wyoming and Colorado State by 3-1 scores at home in September
Wyoming is 11-0 at home this season; Colorado State has won 41 consecutive home MW matches

Scouting Wyoming (15-7, 7-3 MW)

Since starting MW play 2-2, Wyoming has won five of its last six matches, including a 3-1 home win over Colorado State. The Cowgirls did lose to UNLV, 3-1, on the road last week.
Wyoming is a perfect 11-0 at home this season with a 5-0 mark in home MW matches. The squad also had non-conference home wins over No. 15 Colorado and Arizona State.
The Cowgirls rank second in NCAA Div. I with 3.00 blocks per set and have tallied 3.09 blocks per set in MW matches. Reed Copeland is third in the nation averaging 1.65 blocks per set.
Fresno State held Wyoming to .173 hitting in a 3-1 home win over the Cowgirls on Sept. 27. The 'Dogs have won three straight over Wyoming but haven't won in Laramie since 2013.

Scouting Colorado State (16-6, 8-2 MW)

Colorado State has won 41 consecutive home MW matches since 2013 and 66 of its last 67 conference home matches dating to 2010, sweeping all four home MW opponents this year.
The Rams have won their last five matches with four sweeps since a 3-1 loss at Wyoming.
Colorado State leads the MW in kills per set (13.60) and hitting percentage (.284) in conference and is top two in every MW season stats category other than digs, in which it ranks last.
Setter Katie Oleksak leads the league and is 14th in NCAA Div. I with 11.37 assists per set.
Fresno State ended a nine-match losing streak to Colorado State outblocking the Rams 13-5 in its 3-1 home win on Sept. 29. The Bulldogs haven't won at Colorado State since Oct. 4, 1996.

Top of the Mountain

With their best start to MW play since joining the conference in 2012, the 8-1 'Dogs are the only 1-loss team in the league and have a half game lead over 8-2 Colorado State.
Fresno State has its best overall conference start in program history, topping the 7-1 record the 2003 team had to begin WAC play.
Starting MW 4-0, the Bulldogs equaled the program record for consecutive wins to begin conference play, matching a 4-0 start in 2001 as a member of the WAC.
The 'Dogs have never won a conference championship as an NCAA program (since 1982). Fresno State did win two Northern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCIAC) titles in 1972 and 1973 as an AIAW program.

Historic Season

With a 16-6 overall record Fresno State already has its most wins since going 17-15 in 2013 and has its best record through 22 matches since the 2003 team began 18-4.
The program has never had fewer than seven losses in the Div. I era and its fewest losses in the last 14 years was 13, in 2004 and 2012.
Fresno State is three wins shy of matching the program record for MW wins, set by the 2013 team which finished 11-9 in the league.
Since joining the MW in 2012 the highest the 'Dogs have ever finished in the league is 4th place. The team has finished in eighth place or lower in four straight years.

Winning on the Road

The Bulldogs are 6-2 in true road matches this season, already doubling their road win total from last year in which the team finished 3-12 in road contests.
With four road MW wins the Bulldogs have doubled 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.

Getting Defensive

The Bulldogs have held their MW opponents to .149 hitting, the best among all teams thus far in conference play, with seven of nine MW foes held below a .200 hit percentage.
In MW matches the 'Dogs also lead the league with 16.03 digs per set, averaging over one and a half per set more than any other team, and are second with 2.85 blocks per set.
In their 3-0 sweep at Utah State the 'Dogs held the Aggies to -.045 hitting (22 kills- 27 errors), the first time Fresno State has ever limited a MW opponent to a negative hitting percentage since joining the league.

First Set Success

The 'Dogs won the first set in each of their first seven MW matches and in 15 of 22 total matches this year
Fresno State is 13-2 when winning the first set and 3-4 when losing it.

She Can Dig It

Sophomore Reagan Leonard leads the MW averaging 4.88 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 and, with 420 digs this year, she could challenge the single-season program record of 573 digs, set by current Bulldog assistant coach Maggie Eppright in 2015.
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 17 of 22 matches this year, averaging 2.43 blocks per set while allowing only 1.91 opponent blocks per set.
The Bulldogs are 15-2 this year when having the same or more blocks than their opponent but 1-4 when trailing in blocks.
In MW play Haile Watson leads the league averaging 1.58 blocks per set and has tallied at least four blocks in all nine matches. She was named MW Defensive Player of the Week after totaling 10 blocks in Bulldog home wins vs. UNLV and New Mexico and she had 14 blocks in two matches last week.

Stepping Up

Senior Aubrey Folk has been a big factor in the 'Dogs MW success as she has thrived with increased playing time.
Folk is second on the team with 2.90 kills per set and with 0.97 blocks per set while hitting .293 in conference play after averaging just 1.78 kills and 0.37 blocks per set in the 13 Bulldog non-conference matches.
Folk has had double-digit kills in five MW matches and recorded four or more blocks in five league matches.

Taking Down Goliath

Fresno State looks for its second win this year over 14-time MW champion Colorado State. On Sept. 29, the 'Dogs beat 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 errors.

On Service

The service game has been a big factor in Fresno State's success this year as the team is 11-0 when leading in aces and 5-6 when trailing its opponent in aces.
The 'Dogs are averaging 1.62 aces per set in their 16 wins compared to 1.04 aces per set in the six losses.
Fresno State has also cut down on its service errors, tallying more aces than errors in three of the last four matches

All Around Star

For the second consecutive season senior Taylor Slover is leading the 'Dogs in kills per set (3.60) and points per set (4.22), and this year she is also second on the team with 26 service aces and with 2.52 digs per set.
Slover has recorded double-doubles in five MW matches and is second in the league with 11 double-doubles this year, the most by a Bulldog since Zana Bowens had 12 double-doubles in the 2015 season.
Slover has recorded double-digit kills in 19 of 22 matches and double-digit digs in 11 matches while also contributing 43 blocks.

Home Cooking

Dating back to the 2016 season the Bulldogs have won 16 of their last 20 home matches.
Fresno State was 7-3 at home last season and is 7-1 in the Save Mart Center so far this year.
The squad has clinched a winning home record for the third straight year and the sixth time in the last seven seasons.

Going Long

Fresno State has played at least four sets in 15 of 22 matches this season with five 5-set matches. The team is playing just under four sets per match on average.
The squad is undefeated (9-0) this season when winning the third set in a match that goes four or five sets.
The Bulldogs have played 86 sets this year with 11 sets that have gone to extra points.

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.

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 squad ranks second in the MW in average attendance, trailing only 14-time MW champion Colorado State.
The 'Dogs have topped 1,000 fans in five of eight home matches with a season-high crowd of 1,583 for Fresno State's home opener vs. local rival Fresno Pacific.

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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Bulldogs to face Wyoming and Colorado State on the road

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Players Mentioned

Zana Bowens

Maggie Eppright

Aubrey Folk

Reagan Leonard

Taylor Slover

Haile Watson

Fresno State Athletics

Bulldogs to face Wyoming and Colorado State on the road

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Players Mentioned

Zana Bowens

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Aubrey Folk

Reagan Leonard

Taylor Slover

Haile Watson

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