‘Dogs defeated by Gonzaga, 3-1

Friday, September 7

Portland, Ore.

5 P.M. PT

Fresno State

7-2

Gonzaga

2-5

Fresno State

Gonzaga

‘Dogs defeated by Gonzaga, 3-1

9/7/2018 7:42:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Fresno State won the first set and out-hit Gonzaga in each of the first three sets but the Zags were able to come back for a 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-15) win Friday evening in the Les Schwab West Coast Challenge hosted by Portland State.

Fresno State (7-2) had a higher hitting percentage than Gonzaga in both the second and third sets but the 'Dogs struggled in the serving game throughout the night, finishing with four aces and 10 errors while the opposing Bulldogs had eight aces to six service errors. Gonzaga (2-5), which has played one of the toughest schedules in the country, won for the second time on Friday after beating Cal, 3-2, earlier in the day.

Taylor Slover record her second double-double of the day and fifth on the season with 12 kills and 10 digs. Jessica Gilbert also had 12 kills and Kava Durr totaled nine. Montez Uigaese had a match-high five blocks and Madelyn Halteman had 32 assists and seven digs on the night. Reagan Leonard tallied a match-high 30 digs.

How it Happened
The first set had seven ties and three lead changes but Fresno State led for most of it. Slover had six kills and Durr had five and the 'Dogs opened up a 19-13 lead. Gonzaga hit .273 in the set and came back to trail just 23-22, but after a timeout Slover tallied back-to-back kills to give the set to Fresno State.

Fresno State jumped to an 8-5 lead in the second set but Gonzaga came back to lead 12-11. Neither team hit well in the set but the big difference was serving as Gonzaga had two aces and Fresno State had three service errors. Gonzaga held just a 22-18 lead but reached set point at 24-18 and won it 25-20.

Gonzaga jumped to a 12-6 lead in the third set but the 'Dogs came back to tie it 13-13 and would hold a 21-19 lead. The 'Dogs had two more kills than the Zags in the set but also had six attack errors, three of which came in the late stages of the set as Gonzaga ended it on a 6-1 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Zags took the momentum into the fourth set to take a big early lead. Gonzaga led 6-0, 9-1, and 12-3 as Fresno State had to fight from behind from the onset. Gonzaga hit .250 in the set while the Bulldogs had eight kills and eight attack errors to finish at .000. Fresno State battled back to as close as a 19-13 deficit but Gonzaga finished the win with a block on its first match point.

Notes

Gonzaga ended the night with a slim .203-.174 advantage in hitting percentage and were 9-6 in blocks while Fresno State had a 75-66 edge in digs.
The Bulldogs had been undefeated this season (6-0) when winning the first set.
Fresno State and Gonzaga were meeting for just the third time ever and hadn't played in nearly 20 years, with the last match a 3-1 Bulldog win in 1998.
The 'Dogs have played at least four sets in seven of their first eight matches of the year against Div. I opponents.
Each of Fresno State's two losses this year have come in four sets and both were against West Coast Conference teams.

What's Next
The Bulldogs will wrap up play at the Les Schwab West Coast Challenge in Portland facing Cal on Saturday at 10 a.m.

"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