Fresno State hung around long enough to become a possible threat to top-seeded New Mexico State.

"Rusty" as it was, New Mexico State shook off Fresno State, 25-17, 25-17, 25-22, in last night's Western Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Lindsey Yon had 11 kills and Krista Altermatt had nine as the Aggies (22-7) advanced to play fifth-seeded San Jose State in today's 5 p.m. semifinal.

"I almost felt like we were a little rusty," New Mexico State coach Michael Jordan said. "We only had an hour of practice yesterday and we didn't practice the day before — travel day. Typically, you know when I think back to these conference tournaments, the first match is always a little sketchy at times."

Fresno State (7-20) was led by Baylee Platt's 14 kills and got into the quarterfinal match after defeating No. 9 Louisiana Tech in yesterday morning's play-in match.

The Bulldogs led several times early in the third set, the last at 13-10 after Kelly Leonardo's kill. The Aggies scored five straight to take a 15-13 lead on Yon's kill. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to one three times — the last at 23-22 — on Platt's kill that forced the Aggies to call a timeout.

"We had a really hard time handling the outside attack," Fresno State coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said. "They kept adjusting to us."

Whitney Woods buried a kill on the right side to make it 24-22 and Erin Birmingham's kill on an overpass ended the match.

"I think that we came out a little rusty and a little shaky," Yon said. "I think we were overall consistent. It was a very good warm up and game to get us ready for tomorrow as well."

SJSU OUSTS UTAH STATE

Colleen Burke's step-out move was unstoppable all afternoon as her 19-kill effort powered No. 5 San Jose State past No. 4 Utah State, 16-25, 25-23, 25-16, 17-25, 15-8, in yesterday's Western Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal match at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Kelly Crow had 17 kills and Brianna Amian, a Moanalua graduate, added seven for the Spartans (13-16).

"I felt we were all in a good rhythm for the first time in a long time," said Burke, who had just one hitting error in 28 attempts for a .643 hitting percentage. "We all came together and you knew in the huddle everyone had that desire to play."

In the fifth set, San Jose State libero Kristal Tsukano, a Kamehameha graduate, had an ace to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead and one it would not relinquish the rest of the way.

"The kids did a great job," San Jose State coach Oscar Crespo said. "We have been talking about Utah State for the past three days."

Melissa Osterloh had 20 kills to lead Utah State (11-17).

NO. 3 IDAHO SWEEPS

Third-seeded Idaho moved into a semifinal matchup with Hawai'i after a 25-20, 25-21, 25-18 sweep of sixth-seeded Nevada.

The Vandals lost both matches against the Rainbow Wahine this season, but took a set in their first meeting, which cost Hawai'i the top seed this week.

Idaho (19-9) trailed early in each set, but swept the Wolf Pack (12-15) with a balanced attack led by Sarah Conwell (12 kills) and Haley Larsen (10), a four-time all-WAC hitter and the school's career kills leader.

Nevada (12-15) closes its season at next week's Bankers Classic in Stockton, Calif. This will be its first losing season since joining the WAC in 2000. The Pack ended Idaho's season in the first round at the 2005 and 2007 WAC tournaments.

Senior Allison Hernandez led the Pack with 13 kills and Lindsay Baldwin added eight, with four blocks. St. Francis graduate Kylie Harrington had four kills for Nevada and reserve Tatiana Santiago, out of Kamehameha, added five digs.

FSU WINS PLAY-IN

In the play-in match that started at 9:30 a.m. yesterday morning, No. 8 Fresno State rallied past No. 9 Louisiana Tech, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-19, in front of about 55.

Lacey Gera led the Bulldogs with 20 kills. Natasha Kolunija had 13 kills to lead Louisiana Tech (4-24), which has not won a WAC Tournament match in four appearances.

NOTES: San Jose State junior Kristal Tsukano became the sixth player in Spartans history to surpass 1,000 digs. She came into the match with 999 and had 18 digs in the win. ... Tsukano finished with a career-high 11 kills in last Thursday's five-set win at Louisiana Tech. Without two outside hitters, the 5-foot-3 Tsukano moved from libero to outside hitter after the first set and finished with a .333 hitting percentage. She added nine digs, one away from her first double-double.