NCAA-bound Fresno State volleyball is a compelling story. How did that happen? | Opinion

The Fresno State volleyball team is doing something right now the program has never done before.

The Bulldogs are making me care. Last week’s Cinderella-esque run in the Mountain West championships grabbed my attention, and now I’m interested, and even slightly invested, as Fresno State ends an NCAA Tournament drought that’s old enough to purchase alcohol.

To the point where I even checked to see if my TV gets the Pac-12 Network, which is televising the Bulldogs’ first-round match against Stanford at 7 p.m. Friday. (Thumbs up.)

Why is Fresno State volleyball suddenly a compelling story? For all the right reasons.

Under first-year head coach Leisa Rosen, who inherited a team that went 7-23 in 2022, the Bulldogs were picked to finish last in the MW preseason poll.

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Fresno State defied those expectations until a three-game skid to close the regular season left them needing help just to reach the conference tournament. But once they got there, the Bulldogs helped themselves to the title by avenging recent home losses to Boise State and Utah State in the opening rounds and overcoming an 0-2 deficit against Colorado State in the final.

“We just kind of went in with a mindset of ‘Why not us?’ ” said Ella Rud, a junior outside hitter. “It’s a clean slate, so we kind of went on a revenge tour during the tournament.”

What the Bulldogs managed to accomplish over the course of three days is only underscored by the program’s meager history of success.

The MW tournament run not only sewed up Fresno State’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002, it was also the program’s first conference championship of any kind (regular or postseason) since 1973. Back when the Bulldogs played in something called the NCIAC.

Not to bring up an old, unpleasant subject, but the last time Fresno State volleyball garnered any headlines was in 2007 when former coach Lindy Vivas received $5.8 million in damages after winning a Title IX lawsuit against the university. Despite getting canned, Vivas remains the winningest coach in program history.

‘There’s huge buy-in’

Up to this challenge stepped Rosen, an Alaska native and former Ohio State standout who spent the previous 24 years as an assistant at Michigan working alongside her husband, head coach Mark Rosen. (Michigan fired him one week before Fresno State hired his wife last December.)

Like most successful coaches, Rosen is quick to credit her players for the program’s turnaround.

“It validates how good the players are here,” she said. “We came in and asked them to make changes, and we have instituted a system and philosophy that we think is conducive to winning. But there’s huge buy-in from the student athletes. It’s very rewarding for us, but I think it’s even more rewarding for them.”

The Bulldogs have three all-conference performers slated to return next season, including MW Freshman of the Year Dionii Fraga, a libero from Sanger who led the league in digs, and a pair of outside hitters in Rud and sophomore Addison Haluska.

Don’t get it wrong, though, the change at the top has been huge. Rud, who played under two previous head coaches, told me Rosen instituted “a different level” of competition, organization and structure.

“She’s brought a great level of intention and drive to our program,” said the Gilbert, Ariz., native. “She’s very direct in what she requires, and she expects the same from us. I think that level of understanding between us is important.”

Volleyball attendance surge

Women’s volleyball, on a national level, is experiencing a surge of interest. In late August, 92,003 fans packed Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium to surpass the all-time record for any women’s sporting event in the world. Two weeks later, 17,037 attended a Wisconsin-Marquette match at the Fiserv Center in Milwaukee to break the indoor regular-season record.

The Red Wave has never shown much enthusiasm for women’s volleyball. Average attendance for home matches at Save Mart Center typically hovers between 500 to 700.

Then again, it’s been several decades since Bulldogs volleyball gave more than hardcore fans a reason to care.

“We’re heading to the NCAA Tournament and there’s people who want to know what our next path is and what’s going on with our program,” Rosen said. “I think this community, and clearly I’m new, but from everything I’ve experienced they’re very receptive to teams that do well.”

Friday night on the home floor of No. 1 seeded Stanford, a program with nine national titles on its resume, Fresno State will be a decisive underdog. Good thing the Bulldogs are accustomed to that role.

“The last three days (of practice) have been great,” Rud said. “We’ve been working really hard, and the girls are excited. Why not go out with a bang?”

Why not, indeed.