Rice serves as WAC appetizer for Bulldogs

Fresno State survives a loss in the first game to win four straight and beat Rice in the Bulldogs' first conference match

By Darrell Copeland

After a slow start against Rice in the WAC opener, Fresno State came back pumped up to defeat the Owls in four games (29-31, 30-22, 30-25, and 30-24).

In game one, Rice outside hitter Rebeca Pazo came out firing with 10 kills and a hitting percentage of .563.

Fresno State head coach Lindy Vivas expressed concern for Pazo’s powerful hitting.

“ We thought, ‘oh my God, she’s gonna get 45 kills at this rate if it goes five,’” Vivas said.

In game two, the Bulldogs came out and built up a big lead against the Owls, slowing down the relentless attack of Pazo.

Fresno State mixed up its own attack by using the trio of Carrie Hartt, Tiffany Bishop and Kristen Fenton. Together they combined for 18 kills in game two; more than two-thirds of the Bulldogs’ attack in the game.

Going into game three, Fresno State put an emphasis on maintaining focus and not letting Rice back into the match.

The Owls came out in game three and took the lead until sophomore La’akea Campbell took her turn serving. Campbell served up six consecutive points to help the Bulldogs slowly pull away from Rice.

Coming into game four with a 2-1 lead suddenly energized the crowd to a new level.

“ The crowd did great,” Bishop said. “You get them cheering for you and you can do anything out there.”

The chants of “Fresno…You know” echoed throughout the North Gym, providing a boost for the Bulldogs for the already well conditioned team in the final game.

“ I thought our defense played the best in game four,” Vivas said.

In game four, Fresno State and Rice again traded points back and forth until Hartt took her turn to serve. This time it was Hartt with five straight points to put the Bulldogs ahead for good.

Vivas was happy about the victory but said she still feels there is room for improvement.

“ I thought that we made too many errors and gave them too many points,” Vivas said.

Fenton also questioned the Bulldogs’ performance.

“ Honestly, I think we need to pick it up a little bit,” Fenton said.

Vivas did give Rice a lot of credit for making it tough on Fresno State, especially Pazo.

“ They’ve got one of the best hitters in the country in Pazo,” Vivas said. “They’re going to finish in the top four in the conference.”

Pazo initially began the match with a continuing flurry of kills, but credited Fresno State for being able to slow her down by match’s end.

“ I think they played a good game,” Pazo said. “They have really good serving and they have good hitters.”

The Bulldogs continue WAC play Saturday against Tulsa. The match will be held in the North Gym and begin at 4 p.m.