Watson has career night but ‘Dogs edged by Saint Mary’s, 3-1

Thursday, August 30

Fresno, Calif.

7 P.M. PT

Fresno State

4-1

Saint Mary's

2-2

Saint Mary's

Fresno State

Watson has career night but ‘Dogs edged by Saint Mary’s, 3-1

8/30/2018 10:14:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Travis Blanshan / Assistant Director of Communications

Fresno State Invitational Tournament Central

FRESNO, Calif. – Senior Haile Watson had a career-high 19 kills and nearly broke the program record for hitting percentage, swinging at a .720 clip, but Fresno State was edged by Saint Mary's 3-1 (25-11, 20-25, 25-21, 26-24) on the opening day of the Fresno State Invitational Thursday night in the Save Mart Center.

Watson did not have an attack error until late in the fourth set, finishing the night with 19 kills and just one error in 25 swings. Her .720 hitting percentage nearly broke the single-match program record of .792, achieved by Shauna McQuaid with 20 kills and one error against UALR in 2001. Watson added two blocks and two digs while Taylor Slover had 10 kills, Madelyn Halteman tallied 30 assists and nine digs, and Reagan Leonard had a match-high 24 digs.

Fresno State (4-1) dropped its first match of the season and saw its home winning streak (dating back to last season) snapped at four. Saint Mary's (2-2), which defeated No. 19 Utah last weekend, had nine blocks in a dominant first set but had to fight hard in the other three, narrowly topping the 'Dogs in the fourth to prevent the match from extending to a decisive fifth set. The Gaels ended the match with a 12.0-6.0 edge in blocks and outhit the 'Dogs .338-.200.

How it Happened
The Gaels' blocking turned a close first set into a runaway for the visitors. The Bulldogs led 8-7 before Saint Mary's went on a 7-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. The Bulldogs got back to within a 14-10 deficit before Saint Mary's used a 10-0 spurt to open up a huge lad. The Gaels had nine blocks in the set and held the 'Dogs to -.174 hitting, with junior Alex O'Sullivan tallying seven blocks with one solo.

Saint Mary's also hit .500 in the opening set but was held to just .139 hitting in the second set as the Bulldogs pulled even. Watson had five kills and no errors in just six swings in the second set while Slover recorded five of her 10 total kills. Fresno State led 16-10 before six straight points from the Gaels brought them even. The set was tied at 20-20 before the 'Dogs scored the last five points, winning the set on an ace from Halteman.

Fresno State hit a match-best .344 in the third set but never led. Fresno State stayed close after Saint Mary's jumped to a 14-8 lead and trailed the Gaels just 20-18. Watson had another big set with five kills in six swings and Fresno State trailed just 23-21 before consecutive kills from Saint Mary's gave it a 2-1 match lead.

There were 13 ties and seven lead changes in a very competitive fourth set. Saint Mary's hit .500 in the set and the 'Dogs hit .341 with six kills apiece from Watson and senior Jessica Gilbert. Neither team led by more than four points in the set and Fresno State held a 21-19 advantage. Three straight points by Saint Mary's, including a big reversed call on a coach's challenge, put the Gaels ahead. A kill by Gilbert staved off one match point to level it at 24-24, but a Saint Mary's kill followed by a Bulldog attack error ended the match.

Notes

Watson topped her previous career-high of 11 kills, set in 2016, through just three sets and surpassed her previous career-best hitting percentage of .643, set against Texas Southern in 2016.
Saint Mary's had just one block apiece in each of the last three sets after nine in the first set.
Montez Uigaese led Fresno State with four blocks and is now averaging just under one block per set this year.
Thursday's crowd of 1,069 fans kept the Bulldogs ranked in the top 20 in NCAA Div. I in average home attendance this season.
In the first match of the Fresno State Invitational earlier on Thursday, Cal Baptist outlasted American, 3-2.

What's Next
Fresno State will host four matches in the Fresno State Invitational on Friday starting at 10 a.m. The 'Dogs will play the final match of the day when they take on American at 7:30 p.m. The complete Fresno State Invitational schedule can be found on the Tournament Central page.

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