FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton struggled to get anything going offensively Saturday night as they fell to Long Beach State in straight sets (14-25, 15-25, 15-25) in a Big West Conference match at Titan Gym.
The Titans (6-9, 0-2) managed just a .148 hitting percentage while Long Beach State (12-4, 2-0) posted a .365 mark, committing just 9 errors in 85 attempts. Freshman Niki Withers led the Titans with eight kills and Holland Crenshaw added seven. Mackenzie Olsen dished out 27 assists and added four kills while McKenna Painton had nine digs to lead the defense.
For the 49ers, Chisom Okpala led the way with 10 kills without committing an error in 11 attempts while Bre Mackie added eight kills. Jenelle Hudson posted 25 assists.
The Titans never led in the opening set. In the second, Withers hammered a kill to open the frame and give the Titans their first lead of the match. But Long Beach State answered with a 5-0 run and eventually took a commanding 12-3 lead that they never relinquished.
Fullerton will hit the road next week when they take on the Rainbow Wahine on Saturday night in Hawaii. First serve is scheduled for 10 p.m. pacific time.
Notes: Withers' streak of 14 straight matches with double-digit kills came to an end on Saturday night… The Titans are now 2-5 in three-set matches this season... Fullerton has now lost four straight matches to Long Beach State… The Titans did not have a player record double-digit kills for the first time all season.