SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton scored a pair of impressive victories Saturday afternoon, taking down Villanova in four sets followed by a sweep of Brown in the second day of the SDSU - USD 2014 Classic.
Match One: Cal State Fullerton 3, Villanova 1 (Box Score PDF)
Holland Crenshaw set a new career high with 18 kills as the Titans took down the Wildcats 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-21) to kick off the second day of the SDSU - USD Classic Saturday afternoon at Aztec Court.
Crenshaw slammed down the match-winning kill for the Titans and hit .385 overall to lead Fullerton to the victory. The junior middle blocker was one of four Titans to record double digit kills against the Wildcats (3-2). Freshman Stephanie Buss had her best match as a Titan, recording 13 kills while hitting a spectacular .571, committing just one error in 21 attacks. She also led the team with five blocks (one solo). Fellow freshman Niki Withers added 11 kills while Megan Kurz had 10 with four digs.
Mackenzie Olsen recorded her first double-double of the year, dishing out a season-high 43 assists to go along with 12 digs. She also added five kills with one error in 10 attempts and helped out at the net with three blocks. McKenna Painton led the defense with 16 digs while freshman Katie Roux added 10.
In the first set, both teams traded points for the majority of the game. The Titans held a 22-21 lead but the Wildcats scored four of the next five points to secure the opening set. But that proved to be the only hiccup in the match for the Titans, who put together a 12-1 scoring run to turn a 10-6 deficit into an 18-11 advantage and they never looked back.
The Titans took the third set and then outhit the Wildcats .357 to .324 to secure the match.
Match Two: Cal State Fullerton 3, Brown 0 (Box Score PDF)
Withers led the charge with 14 kills while Crenshaw added 13 kills with a .591 hitting percentage to go along with a team-high four blocks as the Titans cruised to a 25-13, 25-22, 25-21 victory over Brown.
As a team, the Titans outhit the Bears (0-4) .337 to .165, including hitting for a .423 clip in the opening set. They went on an 11-1 scoring run in the opening frame to turn a three-point lead into a rout.
The Bears scored the first three points of the second set and led for much of the early going and held a 9-6 edge. But the Titans put together another flurry; scoring 10 of the next 12 points to take a 16-11 advantage and they never looked back. It was the only time the Titans trailed in the match.
Painton led the defense again with 15 more digs against the Bears while Paige Reed added seven digs. Kurz pitched in offensively with 10 kills to go along with six digs while senior Devin Ulmer added five digs of her own. Olsen dished out another 36 assists for the Titans to go along with four kills and a .800 hitting percentage as well as five digs and two service aces.
Notes: The Titans scored 26 points in the third set against Villanova, their highest point total in a set so far this season… Withers has recorded double-digit kills in six straight matches to open the season for the Titans… Villanova's Lauren Carpenter recorded 21 kills, the most by an opposing player against the Titans this season… The Titans are now 2-1 in four-set matches… Delaney Gurol appeared in her first set of the season against Brown… Ulmer and Rachel Brown each made their first start of the season in the match against Brown.