Bulldogs edged at Colorado State

Saturday, October 27

Fort Collins, Colo.

12 P.M. PT

Fresno State

17-7, 9-2MW

Colorado State

18-6, 10-2MW

Fresno State

Colorado State

Bulldogs edged at Colorado State

10/27/2018 2:54:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State outlasted Fresno State in a tight first set and went on to complete a 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-17) victory on Saturday afternoon in Fort Collins.

Colorado State (18-6, 10-2 MW) won its 43^rd consecutive MW home match and took a half game lead over Fresno State (17-7, 9-2 MW) atop the MW standings. The teams split two meetings this season after the Bulldogs posted a 3-1 win over the Rams on Sept. 29. The race for the MW title is still open as the 'Dogs have seven MW matches remaining and the Rams have six.

The Rams outhit the Bulldogs .323-.043 on Saturday and had a 9.0-4.0 edge in blocks, just the sixth time this season that Fresno State had fewer blocks than its opponent. Taylor Slover had another strong match, leading the 'Dogs with 12 kills and hitting .333 with seven digs. Aubrey Folk had nine kills and Madelyn Halteman had 23 assists and two blocks.

How it Happened
Colorado State came out strong in the opening set and took a quick 10-4 lead, but the Bulldogs answered with a 7-1 run to even the set at 11-11. Neither team led by more than two points for the remainder of the set, as the Rams hit just .167 but the 'Dogs were held to a .028 hitting percentage. Folk had a kill to save the first CSU set point but the Rams followed with a kill to win it 25-23.

The second set started similarly as Colorado State took an 8-2 lead before the 'Dogs battled back to get within a 10-8 deficit. The Rams had kills on each of their first eight attacks of the set and went on to hit .552 in the set with 18 kills and just two attack errors. Fresno State remained in striking distance, trailing just 16-12, but the Rams ended the set on a 9-1 run with seven straight points to finish it.

Fresno State led into the middle of the third set, holding as big as a 13-8 advantage after an ace from Pumehana Nedlic. The 'Dogs led by four at 14-10 before the Rams had an 11-1 run to move ahead 21-15. Colorado State held the 'Dogs to .000 hitting in the set and ended up outscoring the Bulldogs 15-3 through the end of the set, winning with a kill on its second match point.

Notes

Fresno State committed just two service errors, its fewest in a match this season, but had just two aces while Colorado State had four aces and seven errors.
The 'Dogs lost the first set for just the third time in MW play, losing the first two sets for the first time in league and just the third total time this season.
The 'Dogs hadn't scored fewer than 19 points in a set in MW play this season.

What's Next
Fresno State plays five of its last seven regular season matches at home. Next week the Bulldogs host Boise State at 7 p.m. Thursday and Utah State at 1 p.m. next Saturday.

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