SAN ANTONIO, TX – The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team finished the UIW Cardinal Classic on Saturday afternoon as they took on Fresno State. The Bulldogs defeated UIW 3-0: 25-22, 25-20, 25-22 on their way to an undefeated tournament in front of a full house in the McDermott Center.
 
 
The Cardinals (4-6, 1-0) opened the first set on a 2-0 run before Fresno State (7-2, 0-0) answered back with a run of their own. For the Bulldogs, Aleisha Coates started off hot with the team's first seven kills to lead the Bulldogs run. At one point, Fresno State led 13-7 but the Cardinals would not go down without a fight as the team got to within one point of Fresno State at 18-17, after an attacking error by Brielle Hefner. After a timeout from UIW, the Cardinals responded with a three-point run to tie the set at 20-20 forcing a Fresno State timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Bulldogs would go on to score the final four points highlighted by two kills from Coates to win the set 25-22.
 
Autumn Lockley (Leander, TX/ Leander) led the Cardinals with three kills and she played extremely well defensively with four digs and two blocks. Bryaunea Hall Copperas Cove, TX/ Copperas Cove) also had three kills and a .286 hitting percentage. Madison Williams (New Braunfels, TX/ Canyon) led the Cardinals with eight assists in the set.  
 
To start the second set, the Cardinals held an early 5-4 advantage and both teams traded the lead. The Bulldogs went on a four point run which forced UIW to take a timeout after falling behind 12-7. After the timeout, Fresno State increased their lead and the Cardinals struggled with the height of the Bulldogs as they were affected by the shot blocking of Aubrey Folk and Haile Watson. The Cardinals were able to trim the deficit to 24-20 after a kill from Lockley, but the Bulldogs would go on to take the second set 25-20. Lockley had six kills in the set and Hall added two kills. As a team, UIW had 10 kills and a .214 hitting percentage.
 
It was another good start for the Cardinals to begin the third set as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead early. After tying the set at 4-4, the Bulldogs would score three straight points to take a 7-4 advantage. However, the Cardinals would retake the lead after a kill from Cameron Edwards (League City, TX/ Clear Springs) made the score 11-10 in favor of UIW. Shortly there after, Fresno State went on a four-point run to take a 15-12 lead forcing the Cardinals to take a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Bulldogs got kills from Folk and Coates to extend their lead to 20-15. The Cardinals did not go down quietly as they had a three point run late, but the Bulldogs were able to win the set 25-22 after a kill from Folk.
 
Lockley led the UIW attack with 13 kills and she also added eight digs. Hall had seven kills and a .222 hitting percentage while Williams directed the Cardinal attack with 24 assists. Shaina Garza (San Antonio, TX/ Warren) led the Cardinals with 10 digs and Sarea Alexander (San Antonio, TX/ MacArthur) had three blocks. For Fresno State, Coates led the team with 18 kills and a .400 hitting percentage and Madelyn Haltemen had 38 assists.
 
For the match, UIW had 29 kills with a .125 attacking percentage while the Bulldogs had 44 kills and a .220 hitting percentage.
 
The Cardinals return to action on Thursday as they travel to Nacodoches, TX to take on Stephen F. Austin in the Holiday Inn-Express Volleyball Invitational.