Fresno, Calif.- With a break in regular season play, the Sunbirds traveled across town to take on friendly rival Fresno State. A 3-0 win for the Sunbirds kept them untarnished in the early goings of their 2008 campaign.

Senior Shu Liu paced the Sunbirds with 33 assist, while Thias Julio nabbed eight kills going 8 for 17 (.417) on the night.

The Sunbirds came into tonight’s match keeping opponents to a mere .017 hitting percentage and continued to dominate on the defensive in route to the victory.

Set one saw the Sunbirds get out to a comfortable lead that allowed them to fend off the scrappy Bulldogs and pull out a 25-17 win. Offensively they hit for a respectable .344 percentage as they kept the clamps on the Bulldogs for a .188 hitting percentage.

With a 1-0 lead the Sunbirds jumped out to an impressive 5-0 lead, which forced the Bulldogs to call an early timeout.

The Bulldogs were able to mount a 21-13 run to take their first lead of the night. As the set continued, things seemed to fall in place for the Bulldogs, but a late 7-2 rally allowed the Sunbirds to steal the momentum and set number two.

Within that rally, seniors Fabian Leomil, Liu and sophomore Lisa Shilling each came up with timely plays. Liu was able to catch the Bulldogs sleeping for two quick kills while Leomil and Shilling each came up with monstrous blocks.

The momentum stayed on the Sunbirds side as they headed into the third and final set. Another quick start allowed the Sunbirds to build a big enough cushion to close out the sweep. Once again the defensive presents carried the Sunbirds as they kept the Bulldogs to a .053 hitting percentage in route to the 25-18 win.

Next up for the Sunbirds will be conference foe Azusa Pacific on Tuesday, September 9^th. The road match is scheduled for a 7:00 pm start.