Bulldogs host No. 13 Colorado State & Wyoming

Thursday, November 7

Fresno, CA

6:00 PM PT

Fresno State

No. 13 Colorado State

Photo by: Keith Kountz/Fresno St/NCAA Phot

Bulldogs host No. 13 Colorado State & Wyoming

11/5/2019 2:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Fresno State Notes (PDF)Colorado State Notes (PDF)Wyoming Notes (PDF)Mountain West Weekly Release (PDF)

By: Travis Blanshan / Assistant Director of Communications

FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State volleyball team returns home to host No. 13 Colorado State and Wyoming this week as the program will hold a special pre-match jersey unveiling celebration on Saturday for Bulldog volleyball legend Ruth Lawanson.

Fresno State vs. No. 13 Colorado State
Nov. 7, 2019 • 6:00 PM PT • Save Mart Center (3,333) • Fresno, Calif.
Watch: Mountain West Network
Live: Live Stats • Live Updates on Twitter (@FresnoStateVB)
Series History: CSU leads 16-9
Streak: CSU W2
Last: CSU 3-0 (10/10/19)

Fresno State vs. Wyoming
Nov. 9, 2019 • 11:00 AM PT • Save Mart Center (3,333) • Fresno, Calif.
Watch: Mountain West Network
Live: Live Stats • Live Updates on Twitter (@FresnoStateVB)
Series History: WYO leads 17-14
Streak: WYO W1
Last: WYO 3-0 (10/12/19)

Promotions
Thursday: Staff and Faculty Appreciation Day

All Fresno State Staff and Faculty members get in FREE!
Cheer on your Bulldogs' favorite professors as they deliver the first serves to their students
Check out the Junior Bulldog Kids Zone pregame!
- Bulldog Bingo, Pop-A-Shot, Cornhole, Jenga & Poster Making Station

Saturday: Ruth Lawanson Jersey Unveiling & Canned Food Drive

Help us celebrate Bulldog Volleyball legend Ruth Lawanson as we raise her jersey and honor her during the game!
- No. 1 in career hitting percentage (.317) & No. 7 in career aces (127)
- No. 1 in single season matches played (39 - 1984), No. 3 in single season sets played (132 - 1984), No. 5 in single season hitting percentage (.337 - 1984), No. 6 in single season aces (55 - 1984) & No. 10 in kills in a single season (488 - 1984)
- Helped lead the Bulldogs to a program-record 26 wins in 1984
- Two-time (1983 & '84) NorPac All-Conference selection & 1984 NorPac Co-MVP
- 1984 First Team All-Northwest Region Selection
- 1984 CVCA/Russell Athletic First-Team All-American & ASICS/Tiger Second-Team All-American
- 1984-85 Fresno State Female Athlete of the Year
- U.S. Olympic Volleyball National Team Member (1985, 1989-92) winning a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Spain
Lucky fans in attendance will receive an exclusive Ruth Lawanson shirt!
Fans who bring canned food items to donate to the Fresno State Student Cupboard get in FREE!
- All proceeds directly benefit Fresno State Students
Participate in the 1000 Fan Challenge – if we hit 1000 fans in attendance, everyone will receive free admission to the Fresno State Football game vs. Utah State at 4 p.m.

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State hosts No. 13 Colorado State on Thursday and Wyoming on Saturday.
The 'Dogs went 0-2 on the road last week falling in four sets at UNLV and five sets at New Mexico.
This Saturday, the Bulldogs will honor Bulldog volleyball legend Ruth Lawanson with a jersey unveiling celebration prior to the game.
The Bulldogs are 2-3 at home vs. CSU and 4-3 vs. Wyoming in Fresno since 2012.

By The Numbers
20 - 'Dogs National Rank in Aces per set at 1.72 to rank third in the Mountain West
1 - Reagan Leonard leads the Mountain West in digs per set (4.53)
35 - Service aces by Madelyn Halteman to rank second in the MW and 63rd nationally

Scouting No. 13 Colorado State (22-1, 12-0 MW)

Colorado State comes into Thursday's match with a 22-1 overall record & a 12-0 mark in the MW sitting in first place in the conference.
The Rams have won 21 straight matches since its lone loss of the season on Aug. 31 vs. Cal.
CSU is 7-0 on the road this season & is on a 12-match road winning streak dating back to 2018.
The Rams lead the MW in assists per set (12.71), hitting percentage (.285), kills per set (13.58), opponent hitting percentage (.103) and are second in blocks (237.5).
Senior setter Katie Oleksak leads the MW in assists per set at 10.88.
Redshirt junior outside hitter Breana Runnels ranks second in the MW in kills per set (3.64).

Scouting Wyoming (15-8, 10-2 MW)

Wyoming is 15-8 on the season with a 10-2 mark in Mountain West play to rank second in the MW.
The Cowgirls have won eight of their last nine matches and are 4-4 on the road this season.
Wyoming ranks third in the Mountain West in blocks per set (2.46), opponent hitting percentage (.185), blocks (221.0) and are fourth in hitting percentage (.230) and digs (1,277).
Senior libero Madi Fields leads the MW in digs with 392 and ranks third in digs per set at 4.36.
Junior middle blocker Jackie McBride ranks third in the MW in total blocks (111.0) and is fourth in hitting percentage (.362).

First Things First

Fresno State has won the first set in 12 of its 24 matches of the year.
The Bulldogs are 10-2 this year when winning the first set but only 2-10 when losing it.

'Dogs tied for sixth place in MW

With three weeks of Mountain West play remaining, the 'Dogs find themselves in a tie for sixth in the league tied with San Diego State and Air Force at 5-7.

'Dogs vs. Nationally Ranked Opponents

The 'Dogs will play their second nationally-ranked opponent this season in No. 13 Colorado State on Thursday.
It will be the 'Dogs first ranked opponent at home since Nov. 6, 2014 when the Bulldogs were swept by then-No. 10 CSU.
Fresno State is 0-14 since 2010 against ranked opponents with its last seven ranked opponents all being Colorado State.
The 'Dogs have been swept by their last 10 ranked opponents and last won a set against a nationally-ranked foe on Nov. 22, 2011 against then-No. 6 Hawai'i at the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.

Halteman climbing the career charts

Madelyn Halteman, the longest tenured Bulldog and the lone fifth-year senior on the 2019 roster, became just the fifth player in program history to record 3,000 career assists as she reached the plateau during the second set against CSU Bakersfield on Sept. 5.
Halteman moved into third place in program history in career assists at No. 15 CSU on Oct. 10 and enters Thursday with 3,736 career assists as she is 609 away from second place (Diann Aufdermaur - 4,345).
Halteman is currently tied for seventh in program history in career aces with 127. She sits only nine shy of third place (Korrin Wild -136) and is only three sets shy of moving into the top 10 in career sets played (Lauren Berger - 432).

Career Aces
No. 7 - Madelyn Halteman & Ruth Lawanson (1982-84): 127
No. 6 Kellie Dyer (1982-85): 131
No. 4 Brenda Gregersen (1992-95) & Kathy Handcock (1981-84): 132
No. 3 Korrin Wild (2010-13): 136

Des Delivers

In her first season with the Bulldogs, junior Desiree Sukhov leads the Mountain West with 4.01 kills and 4.63 points per set.
Sukhov's 4.01 kills per set ranks 49th in NCAA Div. I and she has led the team in kills in 15 of 24 matches this year.
In the 'Dogs five-set win over Santa Clara on Sept. 6, Sukhov tallied 30 kills, tied for the fourth most kills in a match in program history and the most since Korrin Wild had 31 kills in a match in 2012.

Digs all Around

A big factor in Fresno State's defensive success has been depth in digging helping the squad rank third in the MW in digs per set at 14.46.
Reagan Leonard leads the way with 4.53 digs per set to rank first in the MW.
Leonard moved into eighth place in program history in digs on Saturday against UNLV on Oct. 5 and is only six shy of seventh place (Korrin Wild - 1,203).

Aces Advantage

Fresno State ranks third in the MW and 20th nationally with 1.72 service aces per set while having more aces than its opponent in 16 of 24 matches with a 146-95 edge in aces for the year.
Halteman leads the team and ranks second in the MW with 35 aces while Grace Doyle has added 24 and Jocelyn Rodriguez has 23.
The 'Dogs had a season-high 12 aces in the win over Utah State on Oct. 24, just three shy of the program three-set match record.

Sweep happy

Nine of the 'Dogs 12 victories this season have come by sweep.
The 'Dogs last seven victories have all been sweeps.
Five of the 'Dogs six victories at home have been by sweep.

-- For the full news and notes release, click on the Fresno State Notes link at the top of the page.

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