The Fresno State women’s volleyball team ended its winning streak with a three-set loss against the undefeated Colorado State Rams Thursday night.
“We missed out on an opportunity tonight,” said Fresno State coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell. “We’ve been playing well because we played loose and concentrated more on our side of the net and not our opponent.
“Unfortunately we lost that focus tonight, but we’re going to come right back on Saturday redirected and ready to play.”
The Rams (18-0, 9-0 MWC) were led by Adrianna Culbert and Samantha Peters, who tallied nine kills apiece. Defense was on their side; they had 33 digs and 11 blocks in the contest, bringing their conference blocks lead to 2.94 per set.
Senior outside hitter Korrin Wild led the Bulldogs (12-9, 6-3 MWC) in kills (14). Defensively, they had six team blocks and 28 digs.
Wild scored the first kill of the game. Afterward, the Rams went on a 6-2 run before Fresno State took its first timeout.
Fresno State wouldn’t be down for long, however. The Bulldogs went on their own rally and outscored the Rams by five points to force Colorado State to take a timeout.
After the timeout, Colorado State made an attack error, allowing Fresno State to tie the game at 19-19. Back-and-forth scoring took place, then the Rams scored five straight points to win Set 1 25-20.
In Set 2, the Rams continued a scoring streak to post the first three points of the frame. The Bulldogs got on the board through another Wild kill, but Colorado State was able to prevent Fresno State from catching up.
With the Rams one point away from closing out the frame, the Bulldogs scored three straight points. However, Peters got the final kill to end the second set 25-19 and send Colorado State into halftime leading 2-0.
After the half, the Bulldogs took the lead and kept it during the first half of Set 3. With Fresno State leading 19-11, Colorado State called a timeout to develop its strategy.
The Rams went on an 8-0 run to tie the match at 19-19. After a Bulldog attack error, Fresno State coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell called a timeout. Now down 20-19, Fresno State scored three straight points to retake the lead 22-20.
Colorado State middle blockers Kelsey Snider and Cayla Broadwater blocked a Wild attack. Afterward, Culbert knocked in a kill to make it 23-22.
The Rams’ defense closed the game out. An attack error by Fresno State followed by a block on Wild’s attack earned the Rams’ final two set points and the 3-0 victory.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will head to Laramie, Wyo., to face the Wyoming Cowgirls, while Colorado State will try to stay undefeated and host San Jose State.