Bulldogs take down Wyoming in four in MW home opener

Thursday, September 27

Fresno, Calif.

7 P.M. PT

Fresno State

10-5, 2-0MW

Wyoming

10-5, 2-1MW

Wyoming

Fresno State

Bulldogs take down Wyoming in four in MW home opener

9/27/2018 10:54:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno State outhit Wyoming .243-.173, holding the Cowgirls to their third lowest hitting percentage of the season, and got double-digit kills from four players in a 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 25-21) victory on Thursday night in the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State (10-5, 2-0 MW) improved to 4-1 at home this season and defeated the Cowgirls, who were picked second in the MW preseason poll, for the third consecutive meeting. The 'Dogs have opened MW play 2-0 for the first time since joining the conference, having last started a conference season 2-0 as a member of the WAC in 2011. Wyoming (10-5, 2-1 MW), which has received votes in the AVCA top-25 poll and defeated No. 15 Colorado earlier this season, entered the match ranked third in the MW hitting .259 on the year.

Taylor Slover and Aubrey Folk both had 14 kills to lead the 'Dogs offensively and Slover added a team-high 19 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Haile Watson had 13 kills and a team-high six blocks and Jessica Gilbert had 11 kills and seven digs. Madelyn Halteman matched her season-high of 51 assists and had nine digs and Reagan Leonard totaled 18 digs.

How it Happened
Fresno State set the defensive tone early, holding Wyoming to just .119 hitting and just 11 kills in the first set. The 'Dogs led for the duration, jumping to a 9-2 lead out of the gate. Folk had five kills on just seven swings in the opening set and the 'Dogs led by as many as eight points, but Wyoming battled back to trail just 22-20. Two straight Fresno State kills got the 'Dogs to set point and Gilbert won it for the 'Dogs with their 18th kill of the set (watch).

Wyoming used a 6-0 run early in the second set to lead it 10-5. Despite hitting just .171 in the set the Bulldogs battled back and eventually pulled even at 18-18. The Cowgirls would lead 23-20 but a service error, a Bulldog block, and a kill from Folk tied it at 23. Wyoming reached set point on a Bulldog service error, however, and won it on a Fresno State attack error.

The Bulldogs had to take a timeout early in the third set trailing 5-1 but battled back with a 7-1 run to lead 8-6. With its lead at 17-14, Fresno State had a 5-1 spurt to take a 22-15 advantage and Wyoming could get no closer than a five-point deficit. Gilbert had five kills in six swings in the set, hitting at an .833 clip, and had the set-ending kill for the second time in the match (watch).

Fresno State had another great start in set four, leading 6-1 and later ahead 14-8. Both teams had their highest hitting percentages in the fourth set, with the 'Dogs hitting .378 and the Cowgirls at .257, and Wyoming pulled within one point several times in the set but could never come even. With the 'Dogs leading 21-20, Folk was called for an attack error that would have tied the set, but on a challenge the call was overturned to a kill to put the Bulldogs ahead 22-20. Fresno State reached match point on a kill from Kava Durr and won it on Slover's 14^th kill of the night (watch).

Notes

The 'Dogs played in front of 1,028 fans on Thursday night and are now averaging 1,035 fans per home match this season, more than several Pac-12 schools including UCLA and Cal.
The Bulldogs have now won 13 of their last 17 home matches dating back to the 2016 season.
Fresno State played its first match of the season without starting middle blocker Montez Uigaese, who sat out due to injury.
The Bulldogs had three service aces in the match while Wyoming had zero, the first time this year that the 'Dogs held their opponent without an ace. Fresno State is now 7-0 this season when leading in aces.
Wyoming entered the night ranked second in NCAA Div. I averaging 3.09 blocks per set but was held to 11.0 blocks (2.75 per set) in the match while the Bulldogs totaled seven blocks.
Wyoming Middle blocker Reed Copeland led the NCAA averaging 1.92 blocks per set but had just four (1.00 per set) on Thursday.

Quotes

Head Coach Jonathan Winder

On the match…
"The team was awesome. We have a resilient, tough team, with a lot of people with good character. We didn't let an injury hold us back. The team was awesome to respond and step up. Jess stepped in (at middle blocker for Uigaese) and did a fantastic job. She was 11 for 21 in the match and doing that in a different position is incredible."

On the play of the back row…
"Reagan and Taylor and Jocelyn Rodriguez had a bunch of digs and I think the biggest thing for us was that we were able to dig their cross court swings from their outsides. We were able to hold them back a little bit and that was big for us in transition. We've had a huge improvement in our defense."

What's Next
Having already defeated the teams pick second and tied for third in the preseason MW poll, the 'Dogs host reigning MW champion Colorado State (11-4, 3-0 MW) on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs and Rams are two of three remaining undefeated teams in MW conference play (Air Force is 1-0).

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