'Dogs split matches in Utah

Friday, September 8

St. George, UT

10 a.m. PT

Fresno State

3-3,0-0Mountain West

Utah Tech

3-4,0-0WAC

Fresno St.

Utah Tech

'Dogs split matches in Utah

9/8/2023 9:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Holly Cassina / Strategic Communications Coordinator

CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Fresno State volleyball team split matches today with a 3-1 defeat over Utah Tech on Friday morning and a nail-biter 3-2 loss to Southern Utah to close the evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Match 1: Fresno State at Utah Tech
The Bulldogs kept pace with Utah Tech through the first set, but the Trailblazers held on to the lead before claiming a 25-21 win. After falling 9-3 in the second set, the Bulldogs clawed their way back to the top and gained a 21-19 lead over the Trailblazers. Fresno State battled and claimed a 27-15 win in set two. The Dogs fell behind in set three, but managed to find a rhythm that pushed them over the edge to a 25-21 win to give them a 2-1 lead over the Blazers. Utah Tech was not going down without a fight in the fourth set, as they stayed within a point of Fresno State for the entire back half of the set. The back-and-forth scoring continued well past the 25-point mark before a kill by Ella Rud gave Fresno State a 32-30 win in the set a 3-1 win over Utah Tech.

Match 2: Fresno State at Southern Utah
Southern Utah made a statement to start the opening set with a 11-3 run over the Bulldogs. Fresno State picked up the pace and found itself within two points of the Thunderbirds but were unable to gain a lead and fell 25-22. The second set started in a similar fashion, but the Bulldogs bounced back to tie the Set at 18. Fresno State only allowed two more points against them and won the set 25-20. The Dogs held a consistent lead at the start of the third set but fell closely behind SUU. Fresno State came back and tied the set 20-20 and fought through the end of the match but came up just short at 26-24. The Thunderbirds managed to carry a lead through six plays of the fourth set before the Bulldogs rallied together to carry the lead for the rest of the set. The Dogs tallied 18 kills to defeat the Birds 25-20 and send them all to a set five. Fresno State stumbled in the deciding set with a 15-6 loss, dropping the match 3-2.

NOTES

The Bulldogs now have a 1-1 record when playing through five sets after defeating CSUN 3-2 at home last week.
Brooke Cowie claimed a new season-high assists with 51 over Southern Utah and 91 total today.
Jenna Legault also tallied a career-high 11 kills over Southern Utah with 11 and 13 points scored.
Ella Rud had her top attack percentage of the year at .310 over Utah Tech as she went up for 13 kills over the Trailblazers.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will head back to St. George Utah to face Utah Tech for the second time this weekend at 11 a.m. PT.
"Fresno State Athletics - Elevate: Imagine the Possibilities" - The Elevate Campaign provides a visionary roadmap to enhance and construct a series of athletic facilities to help further position Fresno State Athletics for sustained competitive success nationally, while also further serving as a source of pride and economic growth throughout California's Central Valley. For more information, visit GoBulldogs.com/elevate.