Fresno State volleyball back on track and Mountain West title still within reach

The Fresno State volleyball team broke out of a mini slump Saturday, sweeping Utah State 25-21, 25-23, 25-16 at the Save Mart Center.

But can the Bulldogs move back into first place in the Mountain West?

A five-set, home loss to Boise State on Thursday has made the Bulldogs’ chances of winning a regular-season conference championship all the more difficult.

Fresno State (17-8, 9-3), which snapped a two-game losing streak, is in second place behind Colorado State (20-6, 12-2) with five matches left on the Bulldogs’ schedule, including against three teams with winning records.

Utah State (5-19, 3-10), 10th among 11 teams in the Mountain West, certainly helped Fresno State get back on track.

The Aggies posted a .011 attack percentage with almost as many attacking errors (21) as kills (22). Utah State’s season average for attack percentage is .161.

Fresno State did its part to disrupt Utah State, registering 11 blocks and 44 digs.

Madelyn Halteman, meanwhile, got the Bulldogs offense going with 40 assists.

Teammate Taylor Slover had a match-high 14 kills, as well as 13 digs. And Jessica Gilbert and Kava Durr added nine kills each.

This story was originally published November 3, 2018 at 4:16 PM.