Fresno State Defeats Pesky Frogs in Volleyball, 3-0
2/22/2000 12:00:00 AM
FRESNO, Calif. (Nov. 19) -- Fresno State defeated TCU, 3-0 (15-12, 17-15, 15-12) in a WAC volleyball match Friday night. Leading the way for Fresno State (16-11, 10-4 WAC) was senior outside hitter Anamie Buckelew who had 19 kills. The Frogs (9-18, 3-8 WAC) were led by freshman middle blocker Katie Kieffer (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Acad.) with 13 kills and five blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Jennifer Sebastian (Plant City, Fla./Durant HS) aided the Frogs cause with 10 kills and six blocks. Junior outside hitter Amy Atamanczuk (Fort Worth, Texas/Paschal HS) added 12 kills.
Game one was a back and forth affair that had Fresno State jump out to a 5-2 lead before TCU chipped away to even the score at 5-5. The Bulldogs again went on a scoring binge, bulging their lead to 11-6. The Frogs rebounded to close the game to a one-point deficit at 11-10. Fresno State however finished out the game scoring four of the final seven points to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Bulldogs, who hit .233 in the first game, were led by Buckelew who recorded 11 kills. TCU kept the game close with five team blocks in the first, with three individual blocks by Sebastian.
Game two was eerily similar to game one, only longer. The Bulldogs led at 4-0 before TCU tied the game at 4-4. Fresno State pushed to an 11-6 lead before the Frogs tied the game again at 12. After ties at 13, 14 and 15, the Bulldogs blocked two TCU attacks to win the second and take a 2-0 lead. Despite the game two loss, it was TCU's turn to have the higher attack percentage in with a .231 game total. Kieffer added six kills to up her match total to 11, with four blocks. Of TCU's 14 points in the game, half were scored on seven of Fresno State's nine errors in the period. At the end of game two, TCU was out hitting the Bulldogs .200-.190.
Unlike the previous two games, the Horned Frogs were the ones to jump to the quick lead in the third. However, the Frogs saw a 4-1 lead evaporate into a 7-7 tie. Fresno State reversed its fortune from the initial points of the game to outscore TCU 7-5 to win the match. The Frogs remained difficult to dismiss, fighting off four match points.
TCU returns to action tomorrow night with its final road contest of the season. The Frogs take on San Jose State at the Events Center in San Jose, Calif. First serve is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. (CST).
