Aug. 27, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

FRESNO, Calif. - After a three-year hiatus, the Fresno State Invitational returns for the 19th season and for the first time will be played in the Save Mart Center. Three very familiar teams join Fresno State in the first tournament of the season and first matches for any of the four teams. The tournament will be played over two days, both Friday, Aug. 29 and Saturday, Aug. 30.

Cal State Bakersfield
The Roadrunners from just down highway 99 will be the Bulldogs first opponent of the 2008 season. Cal State Bakersfield is a Division I Independent school that posted an 8-20 record in 2007. They return four starters from that team including senior outside hitter Sarah Norman. John Price is in his 12th season at CSUB with an overall record of 200-106. This will be the first of two meetings between the two teams this season as the Bulldog heads to the Bakersfield Tournament Sept. 12-13. Fresno State leads the series record 9-2 with CSUB winning both matches last season.

UC Davis
The Bulldogs defeated UC Davis Aug. 30 of 2007 for their first win of the season last year. The Aggies return to the Save Mart Center to play in the Fresno State Invitational. In 2007, the Aggies went 4-24 and finished ninth in the Big West. UC Davis is under new head coach Jamie Holmes. Fresno State leads the overall series 8-4 and has won the last four meetings.

Saint Mary's
After meeting twice last season, Fresno State and Saint Mary's will meet just once in 2008 at the Fresno State Invitational. The Gaels finished 2007 with a 15-13 record and tied for fifth place in the West Coast Conference. They return 12 letterwinners under fourth-year head coach Rob Browning. Fresno State leads the overall record 6-2 with Saint Mary's winning the previous two.

Save Mart Center Gets New Look
2007 was the first complete season the Bulldog volleyball team played in the Save Mart Center and for the 2008 season the look of the arena will be a little different. The usual 15,000+ plus arena will be enclosed to seat about 2,700 for a more intimate volleyball setting. The brand new court will run from North to South on the West end of the Save Mart Center. A curtain will run in the middle of the arena underneath the scoreboard to section it off. Team benches will be on the East ending facing the court.

Showtime for the 'Dogs
Five of the 2008 volleyball matches can be heard live on 790 ESPN Radio the Deuce beginning with the Aug. 30th match at noon against UC Davis. Christian Lukens will be calling the match live from the Save Mart Center. Six television games can be seen live on Comcast Local Channel 14 with Randy Rosenbloom and Brian Tsukimura calling the matches live. Their first broadcast will be Sept. 3 vs. Fresno Pacific. For a complete list of the matches broadcasted on both ESPN Radio and Comcast Local, please visit www.gobulldogs.com.

New Rule Changes
The 2008 season sees collegiate volleyball making some rule changes to be more consistent with International ball. The biggest change that fans will see when they attend a Fresno State volleyball match this season is the point system. Instead of having to win a set at 30 points, teams will now need to score only 25 in the first four sets and still 15 to win a deciding fifth set if needed. The term 'game' has also been changed to 'set.'

"Join the State - Fresno State!" - New Head Coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell and the Bulldog Volleyball team open the 2008 season on Friday, August 29th at 7 pm as they host Cal State Bakersfield in the Fresno State Invitational at the Save Mart Center. Be sure to purchase your Family and Friends Flex Pack which includes 48 general admission tickets (4 for each home game) to be used as you please for $89 by logging on to www.gobulldogs.com and visiting the tickets page, calling the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS, or stopping by the Bulldog Ticket Office.