With three consecutive wins against Chico State, Sacramento State and UC Davis, the No. 10 Fresno State men̢۪s club volleyball team is geared up for its last home league match against Cal Poly.
Now 12-3 in league, the Bulldogs feel confident.
Junior Jake Wiens believes that enthusiasm and good support on the court will help Fresno State during the match.
“I want to beat the crap out of Cal Poly and [win] a national championship,â€Â he said.
For its match against No. 17 Cal Poly, Fresno State will prepare a new arrangement of players on the court to be able to handle Cal Poly̢۪s strong jump serves.
Coach Brian Tsukimura said that each player has improved since the beginning of the season and playing against Cal Poly will display their skills on the highest level.
“Cal Poly has been really steady the entire season, but they haven’t improved as much as our growth curve,â€Â Tsukimura said. “We were kind of shaky in the beginning, but have become a lot more solid.â€Â
Senior Mike Delotto believes consistency is the key to beating Cal Poly.
“We just need to minimize mistakes,â€Â he said.
Tsukimura believes passing and aggressively serving to the other team will be crucial during the game as well.
“We can do everything on offense, but we need to focus on our defenseâ€Â he said.
Tsukimura is hopeful that the team will end the season ranked No. 1 or No. 2.
“If we are No. 2, we have a really good shot at the championship, which would be nice,â€Â he said.
In early February, Fresno State defeated Cal, but lost to them on March 1 at a tournament in Santa Clara.
Cal head coach, Arlene Bishop, said that Fresno State is a well-coached team with very skilled players.
“Fresno, Cal, Cal Poly and Davis should be the cream of the crop from Northern California as we approach the national tournament,â€Â Bishop said.
Bishop also said it would be a “definite battleâ€Â if Cal plays Fresno again, which may be during the league championships on of April 1.
Fresno State̢۪s last home match will be tonight at 9 p.m. in the north gym.
Students can get into games free with a student I.D. card.
Comments may be used in the print edition of the newspaper. Be sure to pick up next Friday̢۪s issue of The Collegian for featured comments.