Vollyball sets up second-place finish

Fresno State loses final game and tournament title to Oral Roberts

By Darrell Copeland

The Fresno State volleyball team was unable to repeat as champions of its own tournament Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (7-4) fell in four games to Fresno State Invitational champion Oral Roberts (5-7), 25-30, 23-30, 30-25, and 27-30. It was apparent right off the bat that Fresno State lacked the desire and motivation of a winning team. Fresno State head coach Lindy Vivas knows the team learned a lesson from not being prepared against a quality team.

“The team learned what happens if they don’t show up from point one,” Vivas said.

Not only did the team fail to show up from point one, but so did the crowd. A paid attendance of 500 was the official number, but most of them must have shown up with invisibility cloaks on, because they were nowhere to be seen.

Either way, there wasn’t much for the crowd to cheer about. In four games, the Bulldogs amassed hitting percentages of .171, .125, .271, and .056 respectively. It is no secret that there is a direct correlation between hitting percentage and wins.

In games one, two and four, Oral Roberts tallied higher percentages than the Bulldogs, leading to the victories. In the one game Fresno State took from the Golden Eagles, the Bulldogs had a higher percentage.

“It continues to be a little difficult on the outside,” Vivas said.

That may be an understatement, considering preseason Western Athletic Conference player of the year Kristen Fenton was held to a .091 hitting percentage, forcing Vivas to pull the team’s top hitter for freshman Mounia Nihipali. A major contributor to that stat for Fenton was the Golden Eagles’ Becky Dreher, who had 34 digs, keeping her area of the floor spotless.

“I’m confident that Kristen will still be a huge part of the team,” Vivas said. “I thought Mounia could come in and give us a lift.”

Another lingering weakness for the Bulldogs so far this season has been at middle blocker. Even with senior Tiffany Bishop connecting on 13 of 20 attack chances, height and blocking at the position have left them at a disadvantage.

“Make no bones about it, we’re still looking for a middle who can block,” Vivas said.

On Saturday night, not only was the blocking missing, but so was the motivation, which left Vivas searching for answers.

“Maybe not enough leadership from our upperclassmen, a little bit of inexperience from the freshmen; a combination,” Vivas said.

There were two bright spots in the tournament for the Bulldogs, who finished the tournament with a 3-1 record, placing second. Freshmen Christianna Reneau and Ilima Sam Fong each earned all-tournament honors.

“They have been proving themselves every time they’ve come out,” Vivas said. “I thought they were very deserving.”

Of the eight members of the all-tournament team, four were from Oral Roberts, including tournament most valuable player Orieta Zuzic. UNLV and San Francisco also had one recipient, while tournament participant San Diego State was shut out of the awards ceremony.

The Golden Eagles placed first for the first time in two appearances in the Fresno State invitational, going 3-1 over three days of play.

The Bulldogs will now hit the road and travel to Rice and Tulsa for two matches next week before returning home to host the showdown with Hawaii on September 30 at the Save Mart Center.