Fresno State women’s volleyball opened up the Mountain West conference play against the New Mexico Lobos on Thursday, Sept. 23, in Albuquerque. 

The Bulldogs started off well in the first set as they went on a 6-0 run to take a 12-11 lead on kills by Savanah Smith and Amaria Kelley. They capitalized on errors such as a service error by the Lobos.  

New Mexico was forced to call a timeout after the Bulldogs run, but answered right back with a 7-2 run of their own, forcing Fresno State to call a timeout. The Lobos led 18-14.

The Bulldogs then scored the next five out of six points to tie the set at 19.­

After a back and forth match, Fresno State’s  Lauren Sabbatini tied it up at 22 on a kill. New Mexico pushed the lead to 24-22, but the Bulldogs fought back tying it at 24 on a kill by Desiree Sukhov and a service ace by Julia Handy. 

However, that would not be enough as the Lobos got back to back kills from Uxue Guereca and Kaitlyn Biassou to take the first set 26-24.  

In set two, Fresno State kept it close for the first couple of points, but after being tied at four the Lobos went on a 5-1 run on a few kills by Biassou and a kill from Avital Jaloba and Guereca. 

 New Mexico didn’t slow down as they continued on for a 12-4 run pushing the lead to 16-8. The set was starting to get away from the Bulldogs.

The Lobos increased their lead to 20-13. It was too big of a score deficit to overcome as the Lobos went on to score the next five out of six points taking the second set 25-14. 

Trying to avoid a sweep, the Bulldogs got off to a 4-3 lead early in the third set. New Mexico then went on a 9-3 run on three kills by Jaloba and a kill each by Kali Wolf, Melissa Walden, and Guereca. 

Fresno State was forced to call a timeout down 11-7, coming out of it going on a 6-3 run and cutting the lead to just one point at 14-13 on three kills by Kelley and a kill by Sukhov. 

New Mexico went on a 4-2 run of their own making the score 18-15 on two kills by Biassou and a couple of attacking errors by the Bulldogs. The ‘Dogs scored one point out of the last seven. New Mexico had three kills by Guereca and the Bulldogs had three attacking errors, propelling the Lobos to win the final set 25-16 and sweeping the Bulldogs in three straight sets.­­

Desiree Sukhov led the team in kills with 10, Grace Doyle led with four blocks, Mikayla Weiss with 23 assists, Julia Handy with 14 digs and a service ace each by Handy and Doyle. 

On Saturday, Sept. 25, at 11 a.m., the Bulldogs traveled to Colorado to play against the Air Force. 

Fresno State started off slow on the first set, and the Air Force took advantage with a quick 8-1 lead. After going down 14-4 the ‘Dogs then went off for a 7-0 run with Sukhov leading the way with two kills and a kill by Doyle and Smith making it 14-11. 

The Falcons pushed the lead out to 20-14 on two kills by Taleah Cooper and one each from Aaryn Scires and Brookelyn Messenger. The Bulldogs went on a 5-3 run on a kill from Kelley, a few errors from Air Force and a service ace by Ella Rud, closing the gap at 23-18. 

The Falcons surrendered a point on a kill by Sukhov and then wrapped up the set on kills from Joi Harvey and Sarah Markwardt winning the opening set 25-20.    

In an intense second set, the Bulldogs came back from a 12-10 Falcons lead, scoring 8 straight points with kills from Kelley, Sukhov, Smith, and Rendahl with two service aces by Rud as well. Fresno took the lead 18-12.

Grace Doyle added to the lead with another kill. The junior Bulldog had 6 total kills against the Air Force. However, the Falcons came flying back on a 6-2 run to bring the Bulldogs lead to two points at 22-20. 

After a Bulldog timeout, the Falcons made it a one point Fresno State lead. That sparked the Falcon’s offense at the end of the set and they went on a 5-1 run to take the second set, 25-23.­

 The third set started out well for the Bulldogs off to an 11-8 lead with three kills by Sukhov and a service ace and kill by Rud. 

But The Falcons came right back with an 8-2 run to make it 16-13, forcing Fresno State to take a timeout. 

The Falcons decreased Fresno State’s lead down by one point, 16-15. Kills by Messenger and Cooper put Air Force up by three points with the score 19-16. Doyle answered back for the ‘Dogs with two kills of her own making the deficit only two points at 20-18.  

A 3-1 run by the Falcons put Fresno State down 23-19 and forced them to take a timeout. However, they could not keep pace with the Falcons as an attack error and a kill by Messenger saw Air Force seal the final set 25-20 and sweep the Bulldogs in three straight sets. 

The Bulldog leaders of the match were Sukhov leading in kills with 12, Rud had a season high four service aces. Weiss led the game with 26 assists, Handy with nine digs, and three Bulldogs tied for the lead in blocks with one.­

 Fresno State, now 0-2 in conference play and 4-6 on the season, will be back home to take on Colorado State at the Save Mart Center for their conference home opener on Thursday, Sept. 30.