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'Dogs lose 'fight' against Spartans

Lackluster performance leads to disappointing four-game defeat to San Jose State

Joseph Vasquez / The Collegian

Angela Wiggins recorded 18 kills against San Jose State. Wiggins total came second behind Alison Pitton’s 19. The Bulldogs lost in four games.

By Maggie Thach

The Collegian

Fresno State (4-16, 2-8 WAC) is used to being the shorter team. That wasn’t the case Thursday night at the North Gym as they faced a similar looking San Jose State Spartan team, a team that started only one player over six-foot. The Bulldogs stayed with the Spartans the first two games and even out-dug the Spartans but lack of height was not a factor as Fresno State played lethargic and tired in the last two games and in the end, lost 30-21, 29-31, 30-17 and 30-15.

“In the first two games, we played good offensively, we executed well,” said head coach Ruben Nieves.

“For whatever reason in the last two games, we weren’t able to dig deep and fight like we usually do.”

In the first two games, Fresno State played solid defense and limited its kill errors. In the last two games, kill errors were abundant and San Jose State played big at the net, totaling 12 total blocks to Fresno State’s eight.

“It was a combination of things in the last two games. We played worse and they played better,” Nieves said.

San Jose State went to their money player often. Middle blocker Jennifer Senftleben was set 65 times and of those attempts, racked up 26 kills.

Angela Wiggins and Alison Pitton led the Bulldogs with 18 and 19 kills, respectively. The Bulldogs and Spartans had similar numbers in kills but the biggest difference was errors. Fresno State had 30 kill errors, compared to San Jose State’s 17.

Nieves contributes the lackluster performance to weariness.

“A season is long and hard, especially at the point of 4-15 [record],” Nieves said. “We’ve had challenges all through the season but the new challenge is seeing what we can do with the situation we have.”

The Bulldogs have one day to prepare for Hawaii, a program that boasts a 100-game conferene record. Fresno State lost to the Warriors in a three-game sweep in the teams’ first meeting.

“We need to improve team chemistry,” Wiggins said. “At least for one game, we need to play as a team. We haven’t done that yet.”


	October 28, 2005 California State University, Fresno