Volleyball team close to championship form

By Darrell Copeland

After the first ten games of the season, the Fresno State women’s volleyball team is 7-3, and more importantly, realizing their potential.

Bulldog head coach Lindy Vivas said if the little things can be corrected, the team can play with anybody.

“ Last weekend was a good test to see where we’re at, and what we found out is that we can play with these (ranked) teams,” Vivas said.

Fresno State thinks it has found a statistic that can help it better its chances of winning.

“ We have found that the one statistic that correlates almost directly with winning a match is team hitting percentage,” Vivas said.

Bulldogs junior Kristen Fenton has contributed to the attack in a great way. Coming off a weekend that included a career-high 31 kills, Fenton carries a hitting percentage of .355, more than 100 points higher than the team average.

“ Kristen Fenton has done a fantastic job of carrying the team,” Vivas said.

At this point, giving Fenton some help would be a welcomed. Vivas looks to gain that help from the middle and right side attacks.

“ We need more consistent play from our middles and start developing a better right-side attack,” Vivas said. “Last year our middle attack was one of our strongest areas. If we can get it to that point, we’ll be all right.”

Another key player for the Bulldogs thus far has been setter Robyn Keune.

“ Robyn has set some very good, smart matches,” Vivas said.

Not only can Vivas count on Keune for setting, but she need not look any further than Keune for a team leader.

“ As we go through the season, I expect her to maybe step into that role,” Vivas said.

A unanimous goal for both the team and coaches has been to get better and better each week. This season, Fresno State has used the motto of “push back” to keep themselves in every match.

“ If a team is challenging us, how are we going to deal with adversity?” Vivas said. “Push back.”

As far as postseason ambitions go, the Bulldogs are looking to exceed last year’s finish, a first round elimination at the hands of UC Santa Barbara.

“ We’ve made the first round before,” Vivas said. “The next step is to get past that.”

Motivation for such a finish is provided from experience already gained this year.

“ I think the team is thinking we could be very close to 10-0 right now,” Vivas said. “So that, I think, has provided some motivation.”