‘Dogs battle Bears but fall in Portland

Saturday, September 8

Portland, Ore.

10 A.M. PT

Fresno State

7-3

California

7-2

Fresno State

California

‘Dogs battle Bears but fall in Portland

9/8/2018 2:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Fresno State outblocked California, 9.0-7.0, and forged 15 ties and seven lead changes in the match but the Bears hit .294 for a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23) victory to close play in the Les Schwab West Coast Challenge in Portland.

Fresno State (7-3) took its first three-set loss of the season while California (7-2) earned its second straight win after beating Portland State on Friday. The 'Dogs were held to a .208 hitting percentage in the match and had a season-low three service aces.

Taylor Slover recorded double-digit kills for the fifth straight match, tallying a team-high 15 kills and seven digs with seven of her kills in the first set. Jessica Gilbert hit .417 with seven kills and Montez Uigaese hit .500 with five kills and a team-high five blocks. Madelyn Halteman had 27 assists and eight digs in the loss.

How it Happened
Cal hit .281 in the first set and led for most of it. A 6-1 run gave the Bears a 20-13 lead but the 'Dogs battled back to trail just 22-18. The Bears reached set point at 24-18 but the 'Dogs saved four set points, with a block by Uigaese and Kava Durr forcing a Cal timeout as the lead was cut to 24-22. The Bears were able to finish after the timeout, however, on a kill from Bailee Huizenga.

Fresno State had three blocks in the second set but those were the only Cal attack errors as they had 17 kills and hit .368 in the period. The Bulldogs hit just .188 in the set but led 6-5 early. Cal was ahead just 16-13 before a 6-2 run put the Bears ahead 22-15. Cal would win the set on an ace.

The Bulldogs had four blocks in the third set and held Cal to just .231 hitting. The 'Dogs led for most of the set, taking a 7-2 lead and maintain an advantage until Cal tied it up at 11. The Bears climbed ahead 21-18 but Fresno State fought back to pull even at 21-21. The 'Dogs again came back to level it at 23-23 after consecutive kills from Aubrey Folk and Brielle Hefner, but a Bulldog service error and a kill from Carmen Annevelink ended the match for Cal.

Notes

The service game has played a big role in the 'Dogs success this season as the team is now 5-0 when leading in aces but 2-3 when having fewer aces than their opponent.
Fresno State had not trailed two sets to none through its first nine matches of the year.
The Bulldogs played a Pac-12 team in Portland for the second consecutive season. The 'Dogs faced Oregon State last year in a tournament at the University of Portland.
The 'Dogs had played at least four sets in seven of their first eight matches of the year against Div. I opponents.

What's Next
Fresno State concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule next weekend in Long Beach at the LBSU Mizuno Invitational. The 'Dogs face Southern Utah and UC Irvine on Friday and play host Long Beach State next Saturday night.

"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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