Volleyball beats CS-Northridge in home finale

By Joshua D. Scroggin

Now this was a game that could have won over 5,000 fans.

After being convincingly swept by No. 2 Hawaii in front of 4,700 in the Save Mart Center on Sunday, the Fresno State volleyball team scored a victory in a five-game sudden-death overtime match with CS-Northridge Wednesday in the North Gym.

“ I think had those 4,000 plus seen a match like this, they’d definitely come back,” said Bulldogs assistant coach Ruth Lawanson. “This would have been a great match to have there.”

Instead, about 705 came back from the SMC to see Fresno State’s win over the Matadors (30-22, 27-30, 30-23, 28-30, 22-20).

The Bulldogs scored convincing victories in the first and third games, but may have allowed themselves to lose focus in the games they lost, junior outside hitter Kristin Fenton said.

“ We’ve struggled with that the whole year,” said Fenton, who registered a school-record 41 kills in the match. “I don’t have an answer for that.”

Fenton and freshman Tuli Peters heightened their game in overtime. Each player registered eight kills in the fifth game. No other Bulldog had more than one.

Sophomore middle blocker Andrea Thrower sent the Matadors back to Northridge with an unassisted kill on a wayward pass attempt by the Matadors’ Jen Ryan after CS-Northridge was twice just one-point away from defeating the Bulldogs in the fifth game.

Fresno State nearly won in regulation, trimming a 19-26 deficit in game 4 to 27-28, but the Matadors didn’t allow another point in the game, and the match headed into a first-to-15, win-by-two overtime period.

Although it probably could have ended earlier, the match length only added to the drama.

“ I never thought that fifth game was going to end,” Fenton said. “It’s just a lot of fun for me to play in. I love the pressure situations.”

The pressure was enough to keep the crowd engaged in the game, but not enough to make setter Robyn Keune—who set a 5-game school record with 75 assists—forget about the SMC.

“ We deserve to be in there,” Keune said. “All our games should be in there. No doubt about it.”

The possibility that volleyball will find a future home in the SMC is still in doubt, but the Bulldogs may have erased some doubt about receiving a 2003 NCAA tournament appearance with the win over CS-Northridge—a team ranked No. 4 in the western region.

“ In terms of significant wins late in the season, it’s huge,” Lawanson said about the win.

Fenton said the team was viewing this game as the determining factor for whether it got into the NCAA tournament, but before the NCAA tournament, the team needs to get to the semifinals of the WAC tournament at least, coach Lindy Vivas said after Sunday’s game against Hawaii.

Vivas was unavailable for comment after Wednesday’s game.

Senior middle blocker Carrie Hartt had all the postseason pressure and more to think about. Hartt and fellow senior Stephanie Taelman were honored before the match, which was the last Bulldogs home game of the season.

Hartt finished the game with 13 kills and six blocks, and said she was glad to finish her home career in front of the enthusiastic North Gym fans, who she hopes remember her as a specific type of player.

“ Someone who’s always excited, always ready to play. Someone who makes the game fun, no matter if we’re behind or ahead,” Hartt said about how she wants to be remembered. “Yeah, I like that. I’m done.”