‘Dogs downed by Air Force in regular season finale

Monday, November 19

Fresno, Calif.

6 P.M. PT

Fresno State

21-10, 13-5MW

Air Force

17-15, 7-11MW

Air Force

Fresno State

‘Dogs downed by Air Force in regular season finale

11/19/2018 9:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

FRESNO, Calif. – In a match with 14 ties and 25 lead changes, Air Force closed each set with scoring runs of three or more points in a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) win over Fresno State on Monday night in the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State (21-10, 13-5 MW), which had already clinched second place in the MW and an automatic bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) tournament, was swept for just the fourth time in 31 matches this season. With the win, Air Force (17-15, 7-11 MW) completed just its second winning season since joining NCAA Div. I in 1996 and sent out retiring head coach Marc Swindle with a victory.

Sophomore Reagan Leonard had a match-high 16 digs on Monday and now has 570 digs this season, just three digs shy of the single season program record. Madelyn Halteman had her ninth double-double of the year with 29 assists and 10 digs while Taylor Slover led the 'Dogs with 11 kills. Fresno State had a season-low three blocks in the match after recording at least nine blocks in each of its last six matches and was outhit .284-.168 in the loss.

How it Happened
There were at least six ties and four lead changes in each of the three sets. The Bulldogs led 10-8 in the first set before a 6-0 Air Force run but the visitors up 14-10. The Falcons led for the remainder of the set but the 'Dogs trailed by just two points late in the set and 22-20. Air Force ended the set with three straight points to win it.

The 'Dogs hit a match-best .257 but Air Force had its best set hitting .343 in a second set in which there were 13 ties. The Bulldogs again jumped to an early lead and were up 10-7 before Air Force battled back. The set was tied at every point from 20 to 22, but again the Falcons ended the set with three straight points, clinching it on a Bulldog attack error.

Fresno State led for most of the third set and held as large as a 16-12 lead. The 'Dogs hit just .103 in the set but led it 18-15. Fresno State was still up by two points at 19-17, but Air Force ended the set and match on an 8-0 run with four kills, two service aces, and two Bulldog attack errors.

Notes

Leonard's 570 digs are the second most in a season in program history and just 3 digs shy of the single-season program record of 573 set by current Fresno State assistant coach Maggie Eppright in 2015.
As a team the Bulldogs have 1,877 digs this season, just three behind the single-season team record of 1,880 digs set in 2004.
The 'Dogs drew 1,080 fans for Monday's match, ending the year with their 10th crowd over 1,000 this season. By comparison, Fresno State only played in front of 1,000 or more fans in one of 12 road matches this year.
Air Force has now won four straight matches over the Bulldogs after Fresno State won nine of the first 12 all-time meetings between the teams.
Monday's match was the final home contest for seven Bulldog seniors.

What's Next
Fresno State will learn its postseason destination on Sunday, Nov. 25. The NCAA Tournament field will be announced at 5:30 p.m. PT on ESPNU and the NIVC matchups will be announced shortly after. First round NIVC games will be played Nov. 29 or 30.

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.

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