Even with the Fresno State volleyball team starting most of the sets facing a large deficit, they took two of the three matches in Utah.
With the two wins, the ‘Dogs have now won four out of their past six games, and are now 4-4 on the season.
Fresno State 3, Utah Tech 1 (Sept. 8)
The Trailblazers won the first set as the ‘Dogs started slowly, falling behind early on 8-3. Fresno State responded with a 7-1 run to take a 10-9 lead but were outscored 16-11 the rest of the way to lose 25-21.
The second set was tightly contested with momentum changing multiple times. Once again, Fresno State struggled right away, trailing 9-3. The following 21 points were nearly split, with Fresno State having a slight 11-10 advantage. Even with the more consistent play, the Bulldogs still trailed 19-14. Fresno State then scored seven consecutive points to go up 21-19. Utah Tech immediately responded with four straight points to take a 23-21 lead. Two points away from going down 2-0, Fresno State scored six of the following eight points to win the second set by two, 27-25.
For the third straight set, the Bulldogs fell behind early again, this time 6-3. They were able to score seven of the next 11 points to level the score at 10 apiece. The Bulldogs took control of the set from that point on as they didn’t trail the rest of the way, winning the set 25-21.
Once again, Utah Tech got out to an early lead at 9-5. Fresno State answered back with four straight points to even the score at nine. The rest of the set was back-and-forth, as neither team held a lead larger than two points. Both schools had multiple opportunities to close out the set. Trailing 24-23, Fresno State scored two points to get a chance to win the game. Utah Tech returned the favor and went up 26-25.
This trend repeated over the next four points.
With the score tied at 30, Fresno State finally managed to finish off the game after Ella Rud got two kills to clinch the set and the match for Fresno State.
Rud and Addison Haluska played strong games for the ‘Dogs. Rud recorded 13 kills while Haluska totaled 18.
Southern Utah 3, Fresno State 2 (Sept. 8)
Continuing the trend from the first game, Fresno State had a large deficit to overcome right away falling behind 11-3. While the lead for Southern Utah stayed close, Fresno State could not pull ahead in the set, losing 25-22.
The Bulldogs started slowly for the second set after trailing 7-3. They managed to keep the game within reach as they fell behind 18-15. The ‘Dogs dominated the rest of the set, scoring 10 of the final 12 points to win the second set 25-20.
Fresno State took an early lead for the first time of the weekend, going up 7-5 early on. Fresno State was up 12-9 until Southern Utah scored 11 of the next 15 points to take a 20-16 lead. Fresno State scored the next six points to go up 22-20 but could not close out the set as Southern Utah scored six of eight points to win the third set 26-24.
The ‘Dogs were in control for almost the entirety of the fourth set. The Thunderbirds didn’t have the lead at any point in the set after being up 6-5 early on. The ‘Dogs took that set 25-20.
In the fifth and final set, Fresno State’s early game woes returned as it fell behind 6-2. Fresno State cut the lead to 8-6. That was the closest it would get as Southern Utah scored seven final points to win the set 15-6.
Rud and Haluska led the ‘Dogs with 19 and 16 kills, respectively.
Fresno State 3, Utah Tech 2 (Sept. 9)
The first set started close, with neither team holding a lead larger than two points. The Trailblazers caught fire after the ‘Dogs went up 12-11,scoring 14 of the final 20 points to win the first set 25-18.
The theme of the first half of the second set was both teams going on big runs. Down 7-5, Fresno State scored seven straight points to take a 12-7 lead. Utah Tech scored eight of the next 11 to tie the score at 15. Fresno State dominated the rest of the set, outsourcing Utah Tech 10-3 to win 25-18.
The ‘Dogs trailed for much of the third set, going down by as much as 19-13. They managed to cut the lead to one point at 23-22. The Trailblazers closed the set to win 25-22 and take a 2-1 lead on the game.
In the fourth set, Utah Tech had a sizable lead at 18-10 and appeared headed to a 3-1 win. Utah Tech was up 24-19 and one point away from securing the match, but Fresno State scored five straight points on Utah Tech errors to tie the score at 24. Utah Tech went up 25-24, but Fresno State rallied to score three consecutive points to win 27-25.
In the final set, the Trailblazers went up 8-3; again, the ‘Dogs were able to come back to level the score at nine. They went up 14-11 with a chance to close the match, but the Trailblazers scored four straight to take a 15-14 lead. The ‘Dogs scored three straight points to secure the 17-15 come-from-behind victory.
Haluska had another great game, recording 20 kills for the first time in her Bulldog career.
The ‘Dogs will head to Stockton for the Central Cal Challenge, where they will face Pacific on Sept. 14, Sacramento State on Sept. 15 and Cal State Bakersfield on Sept. 16.
