‘Dogs hit .371 in 3-1 win over Southern Utah

Friday, September 14

Long Beach, Calif.

10 A.M. PT

Fresno State

8-3

Southern Utah

1-8

Southern Utah

Fresno State

‘Dogs hit .371 in 3-1 win over Southern Utah

9/14/2018 12:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Fresno State hit a season-best .371, its highest hitting percentage in a match in more than two years, and dominated the first and third sets in a 3-1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-9, 25-22) victory over Southern Utah in the first match of the LBSU Mizuno Invitational in Long Beach.

Taylor Slover had a season-high 23 kills and hit .404, adding 14 digs for her sixth double-double of the season, and Haile Watson had nine kills in 10 swings to hit .900 to lead Fresno State (8-3). The 'Dogs held Southern Utah (1-9) to .154 hitting in the match while recording their highest hitting percentage since hitting .455 against Texas Southern in 2016.

Jessica Gilbert hit .375 with 14 kills and Kava Durr hit .348 with 10 kills. Madelyn Halteman tallied 48 assists and nine digs and Reagan Leonard had a match-high 22 digs. Playing in her home town of Long Beach, Montez Uigaese led the 'Dogs with five blocks.

How it Happened
The 'Dogs dominated the opening set, outhitting the Thunderbirds .351-.051 and committing just two attack errors. Fresno State led 5-4 and then went on a 14-2 run, including an 8-0 spurt, to lead 19-6. Trailing 21-8, SUU went on a 5-0 run of its own but the 'Dogs ended the set with three consecutive kills, winning it on Gilbert's fourth kill of the period.

There were nine ties and six lead changes in the second set. The Bulldogs hit just .211 in the set but held SUU to .195 hitting. The Thunderbirds did have four blocks in the set but trailed the Bulldogs 19-18. SUU then scored four straight points and went on to end the set on a 7-2 run to even the match.

The third set was a near mirror image of the first as the Bulldogs had 18 kills and just one attack error to hit .515. After taking a 5-4 lead the Bulldogs went on a 14-1 run - with 10 kills and no errors - to lead 19-5. Slover had six kills and hit .750 in the set as the 'Dogs won it easily, 25-9.

Southern Utah hit a match-best .343 in the fourth set after hitting .029 in the third. The 'Dogs also hit well, at a .429 clip, and there would be 11 ties and three lead changes as the Thunderbirds looked to force a fifth. The last time the set was tied was at 19-19 as the 'Dogs reached match point at 24-21. A service error kept the Thunderbirds alive before Slover ended the match with her 23^rd kill.

Notes

Slover finished just two kills shy of her career-high of 25 kills, set last year against Utah Valley. She has recorded double-digit kills in seven straight matches.
Halteman had a career-high five kills while hitting .500 from the setter position.
The 'Dogs had two or fewer attack errors in three of the four sets in the match.
Southern Utah had four blocks in the second set but none in any of the three other sets.
Fresno State's 25-9 win in set three marked the second time this year the 'Dogs held a team below 10 points. The 'Dogs won the third set against Fresno Pacific by the same 25-9 score.
The 'Dogs have played at least four sets in eight of their first 10 matches of the year against Div. I opponents.

What's Next
Fresno State is right back in action at 3 p.m. as the 'Dogs will face UC Irvine in Long Beach.

"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.

Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateVB
Instagram: FresnoStatevball
Facebook: FresnoStateVB