Fresno State volleyball lost its Mountain West Conference season opener after dropping three of four sets to San Jose State on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at the Save Mart Center.
The game was mostly competitive with hard-fought sets for both teams, but San Jose State pulled away in the end.
The first set started as a back-and-forth contest, with the ‘Dogs getting most of their points off the Spartans’ errors which kept them in it. The ‘Dogs later went on a 4-0 run with a series of key kills from senior outside hitter Ella Rud which sparked the momentum, bringing the ‘Dog’s lead to 12-8.
However, the Spartans went on a little run of their own, after a string of strong plays which tied the set at 15-15.
The set remained competitive, with both teams tying the set and exchanging leads. Once again, the set was tied at 23-23 with both teams battling late in the match. But the ‘Dogs took advantage of the Spartans’ error, bringing the score to 24-23, and the ‘Dogs capitalized after an ace down the middle from middle blocker Kasey Purry to bring the lead to 25-23 and thus winning the set, 1-0 Fresno State.
Unlike early in the first set, the ‘Dogs started the second set hitting on all cylinders. The momentum began with back-to-back kills by Rud which brought the score to 2-0. Purry ran for the ‘Dogs with a kill down the middle and a strong block on the right side of the net. This improved the lead to 8-2 forcing the Spartans to call a timeout to talk things over.
Following the timeout, the Spartans still remained competitive, but the ‘Dogs did not let up with a trio of kills; one coming from sophomore middle blocker Mya Sellers and two coming from junior opposite hitter Addison Haluska. The score was then 11-5.
The Spartans battled back bringing the set to a score of 14-13 after a series of errors from the ‘Dogs. The ‘Dogs built a little cushion and improved their lead to 18-14. Then the Spartans called a timeout.
The timeout seemed to work as the Spartans went on a 5-0 run to take the lead with a score of 19-18 and then the ‘Dogs took a timeout of their own. However, the timeout wasn’t enough to stop the Spartans’ momentum as they went on to steal the set from the ‘Dogs, 25-21, 1-1 all.
The Spartans went on to carry their momentum into the third set taking a 3-0 lead. The Spartans did not let their foot off the gas pedal as they boosted their lead to 8-4.
But the ‘Dogs showed signs of life after a rally that lasted one minute and 19 seconds and was capped off by a setter dump by senior setter Brooke Cowie, which got the crowd fired up and improved the score to 8-5. This sparked a comeback from the ‘Dogs as the score advanced to 14-10, with the ‘Dogs still trailing.
However, the Spartans remained unphased and won the set 25-16 demonstrating why they are undefeated. The Spartans lead 2-1.
Like the first set, the fourth set was another competitive one early on. The ‘Dogs had the lead 2-1 after a strong block up the right side from Sellers and the Spartans responded with a kill down the middle, tying the set 2-2. The set carried on going back and forth with a tie of 14-14.
The Spartans eventually pulled away with the lead as they finished off the set on an 8-0 run to win the set 25-15. The Spartans won the game 3-1.
Fresno State will look to snap its two-game losing streak against Boise State at the Save Mart Center on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m.
