The Fresno State women’s volleyball team was swept and suffered its fourth consecutive loss on Thursday night against the Colorado State University Rams at the Save Mart Center.
The Bulldogs came into the game after losing both games on the road against the University of Nevada, Los Vegas, and the University of New Mexico, respectively. The ‘Dogs had faced the Rams previously this season and the result was the same, a 3-0 sweep.
Meanwhile, Colorado State came into this game with a 21-game winning streak and a 12-0 record against Mountain West opponents. The Rams also sat at the top of the conference coming into this game.
At the start of the first set, Fresno State scored quickly with the first point of the match. The Rams quickly answered and tied the game 1-1, but neither team was able to run away with the lead. The ‘Dogs would later jump to a 7-7 tie, but the lead quickly began to slip from their fingers.
Colorado State would go on a 6-0 run thanks to the defensive effort of the team and the errors of the Bulldogs, which included four service and attack errors, and would increase its lead 21-15. Colorado State would proceed to score four consecutive points to take the first set 25-15.
The second set would not be an easy one for the Rams, who took the lead early, 3-0, but lost the advantage as the game became tied 12-12. The Bulldogs would see the Rams’ lead increase after a service error by Fresno State senior setter Madelyn Halteman, which would spark a 6-0 run by the Rams, putting Colorado State up 18-12.
The Bulldogs would counter back with a run of their own and regain some ground to tie the game once again 20-20. Fresno State would fight hard to keep itself trailing by only one point, 23-22, but the last two points of the second set would go to Colorado State, which took the second set 25-22.
With the ‘Dogs down 2-0 to start the third set, they started off with a 3-1 lead and were determined to extend the match to a fourth set to stay alive. The Rams would cut the deficit and take the lead with a 5-0 run to put them up 6-3.
Fresno State would catch up with a kill by outside hitter Amaria Kelley, two kills by outside hitter Amilya Thompson and an attack error to tie the game at seven points apiece.
For a majority of the set, the ‘Dogs trailed by no more than two points and kept the Rams close. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs would lose their grip on the Rams, who would finish off the game with a 12-3 run to take the third set 25-15 and complete the sweep.
Even though the ‘Dogs have lost four games in a row, head coach Jonathan Winder still believes in his team and looks forward to Saturday’s game against the University of Wyoming.
“We know Wyoming is a good team, and so I think, for us, it’s just trying to keep getting better,” Winder said. “We have got to keep competing really hard and figuring out, as a team, culturally, how do we compete with all these people on the team and then trying to get better as a group. I think we have a good team. We just have to try and put the pieces together here.”
The Bulldogs will be back home on Saturday morning to take on the University of Wyoming at 11 a.m. at the Save Mart Center.
Before the game on Saturday, the Fresno State volleyball program will hold a special pre-match ceremony where Bulldog volleyball legend Ruth Lawanson’s No. 15 jersey will be unveiled in the rafters of the Save Mart Center.