The Clovis City Council honored the Fresno State club men’s volleyball team Monday with a proclamation recognizing the team’s third national title. Five of the eight players who competed in the national championship are former Clovis Unified School District students.
Fresno State won the 2013 Collegiate Club Volleyball Championship in straight sets on April 6 over UC Santa Barbara in Dallas. The Proclamation also honored Brian Tsukimura, a volunteer coach and Fresno State biology professor, for reaching his 400th win during the tournament.
Clovis Mayor Lynne Ashbeck signed the proclamation, stating, “Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Clovis City Council does honorably recognize the Elite 8 Bulldogs as the 2013 national Collegiate Club Volleyball league California state cup and national champions.”
Clovis Unified high school graduates on the team include Chris Hughes (Buchanan), Jacob Salem (Clovis West), Jordan Darchuck (Clovis), Taylor Dildine (Clovis) and Justin Williams (Clovis). Jordan Burriss, Hunter Knight and Tony Xiong graduated from Fresno Unified schools, and Niccolo Boggio came to Fresno State from Italy.
Fresno State (29-6) finished 9-1 in the tournament, eliminating UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara on the final day. The tournament started with a field of 168 teams, dwindling to 16 in the Division I Gold Division entering the final day. Fresno State was seeded fifth in the Round of 16.
The volleyball team’s win brings Fresno State’s national title count to seven — two in NCAA-sponsored sports (softball in 1998 and baseball in 2008). The club volleyball team won titles in 2004, 2009 and 2013, women’s water polo in 2007 and men’s bowling in 2011.
For more information contact Brian Tsukimura at 559.278.4244 or briant@csufresno.edu.
Related Links:
