In a game that kept the audience on the edge of their seats, the Fresno State volleyball team was able to pull off the victory at the Save Mart Center against Cal State Northridge in their second match against them this week, on Sept. 1. 

Starting off the game, both teams kept things even with a score of 12-12. Later into set one, Northridge would take a five-point lead over Fresno State making it 20-15. 

Fresno State was able to regain some points but ultimately lost the first set 25-22. Senior Grace Doyle led the set with five kills; she was just getting started, though, as she would go on to earn her career-high of 23 kills. 

“It’s a pretty big deal,” said Doyle. “I’m really happy with it and I just think that everyone on the team played lights out so I was really happy to be a part of that.” 

The second set started in Fresno State’s favor as they would take a four-point lead over Northridge making the score 13-9. 

Fresno State advanced their lead with five consecutive points as Kasey Purry and Addison Haluska were a strong force at the net, bringing the score to 18-9. 

Doyle closed out set two with a kill. The Bulldogs held a 9-point lead which made the score 25-16. 

Head Coach Leisa Rosen said in the post-game interview  that she saw big improvements in the team’s defense compared to their last match with Northridge that ended in a 0-3 loss. 

“What we did tonight was we did a better job blocking,” Rosen said. “If we can be as steady as what we are in serve-receive right now and then also get better at the defensive game then the sky’s the limit for this group.” 

Although the score was mostly even throughout the third set, Fresno State gained some momentum towards the middle of the game and managed to pull ahead, obtaining another four-point lead putting the score at 20-16.  

Two back-to-back attacking errors from Northridge allowed the Bulldogs to take set 3 with the score being 25-17. 

The fourth set kicked off in a similar way to the first as both teams were tied at eight. 

As the set progressed the Bulldogs seemed to have gotten “nervous” Rosen said in the post-game interview, and ended up falling behind in points. Northridge took set four, 25-19. 

Both teams were neck and neck in set five, starting off tied at 14. Doyle was able to assist Jenna Legault in getting a kill, making the score 15-14. 

As the audience cheered on the Bulldogs, Doyle and Olivia Keller ended up making a clutch block to win the game for Fresno State, giving Fresno State the win with an overall score of 3-2. 

Next up, the Bulldogs will travel to Utahon Sept. 8 and face Utah Tech at 10 a.m. and Southern Utah at 5:30 p.m.