Win slips out of 'Dogs' grasp
Andrew Riggs / The Collegian
Fresno State’s surprise stud performer in the match against San Jose State was the Bulldogs’ Alisha McKee. McKee earned career highs in kills, attempts and points with 26, 59 and 26 respectively.
Below: Fresno State’s Jamie Temperino, Kelly Leonardo and Alisha McKee (left to right), attempt to block the attack of San Jose State’s Niki Clement in the Bulldogs’ five-game loss to the Spartans.
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By Darrell Copeland III
The Collegian
It’s not by choice, but the Fresno State volleyball team will only let you see a glimpse of what the future beholds.
Problem is, Bulldogs coach Ruben Nieves believes that future has the potential to be shown off a bit more often than his team has shown this season. The Bulldogs currently stand in eighth out of nine teams in the Western Athletic Conference. Nieves believes a fifth place finish, if not higher, could have been a realistic possibility.
Wednesday’s 28-30, 23-30, 30-16, 30-25 and 13-15 five-game loss against San Jose State (14-9, 5-5) would sum up the Bulldogs’ (4-17, 2-8) season as well as any other match this year. A continuous theme has been established during Fresno State’s matches this season — slow starts.
“I think that the way we came out in the third and fourth game is the way we should have came out in the first and second game,” Fresno State freshman outside hitter Angela Wiggins said. “And if we would’ve came out like that, the outcome would have been a win.”
The moments in game one of the Bulldogs’ match with the Spartans — in which the Bulldogs surrendered a 26-19 lead after allowing nine straight San Jose State points — epitomize the early-match struggles that have come back to bite the Bulldogs too many times before.
Fresno State’s failure to “bring it” in the match’s early games may account for numerous Bulldogs losses this season, but when the Bulldogs are on their game, the bright spots are almost too many to count. That’s where Fresno State’s Alisha McKee comes in. With a match and career-high 26 kills, the Kansas native proved to be a useful asset for the Bulldogs, and only got better as the match progressed. McKee’s kill total continuously increased moving from games two through four, all because of a little bit of smiling.
Fresno State assistant coach Matt Tera routinely reminded McKee of her need to smile, “Smile, you’re a much better player when you smile,” Tera said.
“They say that when I get pissed off I don’t play as well, so they just want me to stay upbeat and then have fun because I play better,” McKee said.
Looking beyond the play of McKee, San Jose State head coach Craig Choate saw numerous bright spots for the Bulldogs team as a group, showing relief following the Spartans’ narrow victory in the Save Mart Center.
“You wanna know the truth, I thought it was a fabulous job by Fresno,” Choate said.
Choate gave immense praise to the Fresno State defense, which tallied 12.5 blocks and secured 93 digs against the fifth-place Spartans.
That is why Choate sees such a bright future in the future for a freshmen-laden Bulldogs team who’s playoff hopes continue to dwindle with each loss — narrow as it may be.
“So what if this isn’t gonna be the year they make the playoffs,” Choate said. “That’s a team that’s gonna be just fine in the future.”
• One of the Bulldogs’ standout freshmen, Karli Houston, did not dress or accompany the team to the floor for Wednesday’s match with the Spartans. Members of Fresno State’s media relations staff said Houston suffered a concussion, possibly in Tuesday’s practice.
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