Volk healthy for homecoming as Fresno State visits Weber State

Emilie Volk was back in action Friday after sitting out the previous two games with a concussion, and her return couldn’t have come with better timing as Fresno State travels to her hometown for its final nonconference game ahead of the holidays.

The Bulldogs (6-4) will play Weber State (6-4) at 11 a.m. Monday at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah.

“It’s huge,” Volk said. “I’ve talked to friends and family that might be able to come out. I’m excited.”

The fourth-year Bulldog prepped at Bonneville High School, just three miles away from the Weber State campus. She was recruited by the Wildcats but was ultimately lured to the San Joaquin Valley by then-coach Raegan Pebley.

Still, the Weber State campus is no strange place for Volk.

“It’s literally seven minutes from my house. It’s my hometown. I grew up going to camps there. I’m very familiar with that gym. I graduated in that arena. It’s giving me goosebumps just thinking about it,” she said.

The 6-foot-1 senior forward had 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals in 28 minutes off the bench in the Bulldogs’ 50-49 loss to UC Santa Barbara on a buzzer beater, which still stings.

“Regardless of how I performed, we still lost. That’s the way you feel. It’s a sour taste in your mouth,” Volk said. “We need to learn from this game and move on to the next.”

The Bulldogs will face a Wildcats team that started the season 5-0 before losing three in a row and four of its last five. Weber State’s two most recent losses came to teams that also beat Fresno State – Cal State Northridge and Utah.

Fresno State lost 61-57 to the Matadors and 65-55 to the Utes. The Wildcats lost 89-78 and 71-52, respectively.

The Bulldogs know those two losses, and the one against UC Santa Barbara, should have been wins.

“We’ve definitely had some losses to teams that we should’ve beat and that’s hard because we know our potential and how well we play when we play together and our communication and everything is flowing,” Volk said.

The Bulldogs hope to find that flow in Ogden before returning to Save Mart Center for their Mountain West opener against New Mexico on Dec. 29.

Weber State was picked to finish seventh in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches’ poll. The Wildcats are led by 5-9 sophomore guard Emily Drake (16.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and 5-6 senior guard Deeshyra Thomas (13.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg).

“We need to go into Christmas break with a W,” Volk added.

This story was originally published December 18, 2016 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Volk healthy for homecoming as Fresno State visits Weber State."