After four straight wins in dominating fashion, the Fresno State women’s volleyball team looked to continue with its winning ways against another Mountain West conference rival the University of New Mexico Lobos.

The Bulldogs defeated the Lobos in three sets 24-14, 25-22 and 25-21 at the Save Mart Center Thursday night to bring their overall record to 10-5 and stay undefeated, 3-0, in conference.

The first set started with the Lobos taking an early lead, however, the Bulldogs mounted a comeback to tie the Lobos. The Bulldogs kept the attacking offense going and managed to take a seven-point lead on New Mexico.

With momentum on their side and a lead that just kept growing, the Bulldogs took the first set of the match in convincing fashion, 25-14.

For the second set of the match, Fresno State tried to continue with its strong offensive approach, but the Lobos’ defense kept up with the Bulldog attack. The set got really competitive with both the Bulldogs and the Lobos losing and regaining the lead. 

Halfway through the second set, New Mexico began to take control of the match, pulling away from the Bulldogs and creating a five-point lead. The Bulldogs’ offense answered the Lobos, closing the gap on the point deficit and getting to within one point of the Lobos.

Fresno State tied it up late in the set and eventually took the lead from the Lobos, causing the Lobos to lose the momentum they had created. With the lead on their side, the Bulldogs could not be stopped and took the second set 25-22.

In the third set, the Lobos took the early lead. However, the Bulldogs kept the deficit to a minimum, staying within just a few points behind the Lobos. New Mexico pulled away from the Bulldogs, taking a commanding six-point lead halfway through the set.

The Bulldogs chipped away at the Lobos’ lead, taking advantage of several of New Mexico’s errors to keep the New Mexico lead from growing. Fresno State, much like in the previous set, fought back to tie everything up toward the end of the set and gain some momentum going forward. 

In the last moments of the third set, everything seemed to go the Bulldogs’ way. Every contested point went the ‘Dogs’ way and eventually, Fresno State defeated the Lobos 25-21,  winning the set and sweeping the match.

For the Bulldogs, outside hitter Desiree Sukhov had 18 kills, one assist and seven digs, while setter Madelyn Halteman had 34 assists, two kills and three digs.

After the game, Bulldogs head coach Johathan Winder said they are trying to continue to improve in every match because in every match, they learn something new about their team.

“I thought the team was good and even when we got down, we kept fighting and believing that we were going to win,” Winder said. “We have to keep getting better because it so early in the season. It doesn’t matter if we have won all the matches or lost all the matches, it’s the same mind set.”