COMPLETE RELEASE IN PDF FORMAT: Link
THE WEEK AHEAD: The Titans are back home looking to right the ship after tough 0-2 weekend against Long Beach State and UC Irvine. On tap this weekend the Titans will see the Prides of The Central Coast, Cal Poly (8-11, 2-4) and UC Santa Barbara (10-8, 5-1). Friday night's match against the Mustangs will begin at 7 p.m. The Saturday night tilt with the Gauchos will begin at 6 p.m.
TITAN VOLLEYBALL GRAPHIC: Link
FRIDAY, OCT 25: vs. Cal Poly (Titan Gym), 7 p.m. / TICKETS
Cal State Fullerton (9-9, 2-4) vs. Cal Poly (8-11, 2-4)
Audio / Video / Live Stats
Series Record: Cal Poly leads 45-9
Big West Record: Cal Poly leads 29-9
First Meeting: Lost, 4-15, 5-15, Sept. 17, 1981 (neutral site)
Last Meeting: Won, 13-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 (home)
Current Streak: Won 1
Last 10 Meetings: 6-4
SATURDAY, OCT. 26: vs. UC Santa Barbara (Titan Gym), 6 p.m. / TICKETS
Cal State Fullerton (9-9, 2-4) vs. UC Santa Barbara (10-8, 5-1)
Audio / Video / Live Stats
Series Record: Santa Barbara leads the series 57-8
Big West Record: Santa Barbara leads 22-3
First Meeting: Lost, 1-15, 6-15, 12-15 (away)
Last Meeting: Lost, 13-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-20, 12-15 (home)
Current Streak: Lost 1
Last 10 Meetings: 6-4
LAST WEEKEND: The Titans were in a perfect situation to beat Long Beach State for the first time at the Walter Pyramid since 1994 and in Long Beach since 1982, taking a 2-0 lead into the break. But the 49ers stormed back to win three straight sets to keep the Titans winless in Long Beach – and the second such loss in their last six matches. Delainey Aigner-Swesey had a match -high 25 kills against the Titans, 13 of them coming in the final three sets and also led all players with seven block assists. Four Titans were in double-digit kills, with Bre Moreland sporting her sixth double-ddouble of the year (18 kills, 25 digs). Saturday night, after winning their first conference match of the year the night before, Irvine made quick work of the Titans, sweeping them at the Bren Center. Leah Best had eight kills and hit .353. Moreland had eight kills as well, but had 11 of the Titans' 21 attack errors in the loss.
FOLLOW THE TITANS: Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (CSUF.Athletics), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) and YouTube.com (YouTube.com/csfathletics). In addition, the volleyball team has established its own official Twitter page (@FullertonVB).
TICKETS FOR UPCOMING HOME EVENTS: Tickets can be purchased online at fullertontitans.com, or at the Cal State Fullerton Athletics Ticket Office, located in the Titan House on campus off of Gymnasium Drive on the northeast side of Titan Gym. Game day sales and will call tickets will open an hour prior to the scheduled time at the specific venue.
VOLLEYBALL PROMOTION NIGHTS: Volleyball's Oct. 25 match against Cal Poly (7 p.m.) is Faculty Night. All Cal State Fullerton faculty and staff members will receive two free tickets to the match with the Mustangs. Just show your business card or faculty/staff card at the door to receive your tickets.
The next night (Oct. 26) is Student T-Shirt Giveaway / Movie Night. Cal State Fullerton students attending Saturday night's match against UC Santa Barbara will receive a volleyball t-shirt (while supplies last) courtesy of Titan Athletics. Everyone is welcome to stick around after the match for the playing of a movie on the Titan Gym video board.
CATCH ALL THE ACTION:
Television: None
Streaming Video: Steaming video links for both matches this weekend can be found on the volleyball schedule page at fullertontitans.com or at the links above.
Audio Webcast: Both the games this weekend will be streamed online at fullertontitans.com. You can go right to them at the links above.
Live Stats: Links to live stats for both games this weekend can be found on the volleyball schedule page at fullertontitans.com or at the links above.
A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD:
• After an up and down preseason, the Gaucho of UC Santa Barbara have found a groove winning each of their last five matches after dropping a five-set match to Long Beach State in the opening weekend of Big West play. They currently sit in a tie with Hawai'i (5-1) for second place, a half of a game behind the 6-1 Cal State Northridge Matadors. UCSB has Fullerton and UC Riverside on tap this weekend.
• The Titans and Gauchos have met up 65 times since 1982 with the visitors holding a commanding 57-8 record in the all-time series. Four of the Titans' eight wins have come at home, four on the road – and all eight have come since 2006. Santa Barbara won the first 52 meetings from 1982 through the first of two meetings in 2006. Over their last 13 meetings, the Titans are 8-5.
• Santa Barbara ranks in the middle of the pack in most Big West Conference statistical Top 10s. It is, however, in the bottom three of the nine-team conference in opponent hitting percentage (.220), assists per set (11.58) and kills per set (12.47).
• UCSB senior Katey Thompson ranks 2nd in the Big West in kills per set at 3.45 but is 9th in total kills. She also sits as the seventh best server in the league with 0.29 aces per set. She has 16 aces on the year. Her 4.21 points per set ranks her 2nd behind Hawai'i's Emily Hartong.
• Santa Barbara has a blocker, Phoebe Grunt, collecting 1.09 blocks per set, ranking her fourth in the Big West.
• Cal Poly has been a streaky team in 2013. They have lost each of their last four matches, all in the month of October. Before that they had two four-match winning streaks sandwiched around a season-worst five-match losing streak. They will play Fullerton and UC Riverside this weekend.The Mustange and Titans are tied for 6th place in the Big West, each with a 2-4 league record.
• Fullerton has an all-time record of 9-45 against Cal Poly dating back to the schools' first meeting in 1981. The Mustangs won the first 21 matches of the all-time series and extended to a 43-3 record through 2008. IN 2008, Fullerton finally broke through, and have won six of the last eight meetings.
• Fullerton has won its last four home matches against Cal Poly (since 2009).
• Cal Poly has two players, Taylor Gruenewald (.304) and Chelsea Hardin (.302) in the Big West's Top 10 in hitting percentage. Hardin also ranks 5th in the league with 3.11 kills per set.
• Mustang senior Jennifer Keddy is 5th in the league in aces per set, averaging 0.32 aces each set.
TITAN TIDBITS:
• The Titans are 2-3 in five-set matches this season and their last two losses have come after winning the first two sets of the match (Sept. 22 vs. American and Oct. 18 vs. Long Beach State).
• Heading into the weekend, the Titans are looking to snap a string of six straight set losses (vs. Long Beach and Irvine last weekend). THis is the second time this year that Fullerton has lost six straight. The last time was Sept. 22 and 27 against American and Hawai'i, respectively.
• Junior Julie Consani's 1,652 career assists rank seventh all-time at Cal State Fullerton. She sits 120 assists behind No. 6 Jenna Carney, who set for the Titans from 2003-2006. She currently leads the Big West with 10.84 assists per set, with Hawaii's Mita Uiato on her tail at 10.77 per set.
• McKenna Painton recorded her sixth 20-plus dig match of the season on Friday at Long Beach. She leads the Big West in digs per set (4.56) and sits 4th in the conference in total digs. Bre Moreland (3.50 dps) and Alyse Hensley (3.44 dps) are 5th and 6th in the league behind Painton and have the 9th and 10th most total digs in the league, respectively.
• Sophomore Holland Crenshaw is the only Titan representing in the Big West's Top 10 in hitting percentage. The 6-foot-3 middle blocker, right-side hitter has posted a .305 average thus far with 127 kills in 298 swings. She's miscued just 36 times. Three Hawai'i volleyballers are on that list led by Jade Vorster who is hitting at a whopping .423 clip on the year.
• Titan senior Bre Moreland jumped up a spot in the Big West Top 10 to No. 9 in kills per set. The hitter has connected for 190 kills thus far and is averaging 2.97 a set. She and Long Beach's Alex Reed are tied at 2.97 per set, but the 49er has nearly 50 more kills. Moreland is just 49 kills away from entering the Cal State Fullerton career Top 10. She will bump Alex Wolnisty (2006-2009) form the Top 10 upon reaching 50 more kills.
AWARD SEASON: Senior transfer Alyse Hensley followed up an all-tournament performance at the UNLV Invitational with an MVP effort at the Fullerton Classic. Hensley was named MVP of the tournament after averaging 3.14 kills per set and attacking at a rate of .337. She added a team-leading eight service aces along with 34 digs and nine blocks while totaling back-to-back double-doubles. McKenna Painton was also named to the all-tournament team after averaging 4.31 digs per set and five aces.
At Texas Tech, Bre Moreland was named to the Lone Star Showdown all-tournament team after averaging 3.22 kills and 4.78 digs per set. In addition Paige Reed earned all-tournament honors in Lubbock, Texas, after averaging 4.67 digs per set in the tourney.
2013 BIG WEST PRESEASON POLL: For the second straight year, the University of Hawai'i has been selected as the Big West Conference's top pick in the women's volleyball preseason poll, as selected by the nine league coaches. The Rainbow Wahine were a unanimous favorite, collecting all nine first-place votes en route to an 81-point total. Cal State Fullerton finished in seventh place with 35 points.
CAROLYN ZIMMERMAN: Entering her 12th season at Cal State Fullerton, Carolyn Zimmerman possesses an all-time record of 171-178 (.490). The sixth head coach in Fullerton's 37-year history, she is the winningest (.490) head coach in CSF volleyball program history.