The Fresno State volleyball team’s losing streak continued Saturday, when it fell to the San Diego State Aztecs 3-1.
The Bulldogs entered the contest having lost their first conference game of the season, a 3-0 sweep to UNLV. The Aztecs were playing their first conference game with an overall record of 4-6.
In the end, San Diego State won 3-1 on set scores of 25-20, 25-17, 22-25 and 25-23.
Senior middle blocker Maci Murdock led the Bulldogs with eight kills, and sophomore setter Brooke Legaux also led in assists and digs with 25 and eight, respectively.
The Bulldogs fought back from a 6-1 deficit in Set 1 to close within two points at 22-20. However, San Diego State scored the next three points in a row to close out the frame. There were five ties in the second set, but it ultimately became the most lopsided outcome of the night with the Aztecs winning 25-17.
Fresno State avoided back-to-back sweeps in its first two conference games in the third frame. After 13 ties and five lead changes, the Bulldogs broke the last tie at 21 each with a block by freshman outside hitter Carly Scarbrough and a San Diego State error en route to a 25-22 set win. Bowens and Jelena Jovanovic led the Bulldogs back from a 14-6 deficit in the fourth set to tie the game at 22. Trailing 24-23, a bad set gave SDSU the match point and a 3-1 victory.
Bowens led the Bulldogs overall against the Aztecs with a double-double on 18 kills and 21 digs – a game-high for either team in the two categories. Scarbrough also added 10 more kills.
In conference play, Bowens leads the team in kills (3.57), digs (3.71) and aces (0.14).
For the Aztecs, Halle Aiken led the team with 16 kills and a .316 hitting percentage. Courtney Eckenrode (40 assists), Jensen Cunningham (2 aces), Kaja Sandberg (5 blocks) and Alexa Saba (14 digs) were other category leaders for SDSU.
Fresno State drops to an overall record of 5-11 and looks to bounce back from its 0-2 conference start with two home games this week. The Bulldogs next host the Nevada Wolf Pack (3-9) on Thursday at 7 p.m. and the San Jose State Spartans (3-12) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Both Nevada and San Jose State also have an 0-2 record in conference play heading into the second week.