DAVIS, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton wrapped up a three-game road trip with loss to UC Davis (21-25, 16-25, 9-25) in a Big West Conference contest Thursday night at The Pavilion in Davis, Calif.
The Titans (7-18, 1-11) got 10 kills from freshman Niki Withers but the Aggies (14-11, 9-3) hit .362 as a team and held Fullerton to a .062 clip. It was the Titans fifth consecutive loss.
Withers was the only Titans player to record double-figures in kills on Thursday night and added two digs and a block. Setter Mackenzie Olsen missed out on a third consecutive double-double and sixth in the last eight games, dishing out 20 assists and adding seven digs. Paige Reed led the defense with 13 digs and the Titans tallied 50 as a team, 11 more than the Aggies on the night.
For the Aggies, Kaylin Squyres led all players with 16 kills and a .424 hitting percentage, committing just two errors in 33 attempts. Allie Wegener, Aima Eichie and Kendall Walbrecht each tallied six kills with Erika Conners and Sophia Mar recording 18 assists apiece.
The Titans started off on the right note, leading for the early portion of the opening set. They opened up a quick 3-0 lead and maintained that cushion throughout the first half of the frame. Leading 13-9, the Aggies made their push with an 11-2 scoring run to take a five-point lead. The Titans would cut the deficit to two on three occasions late in the frame, but after a kill by Withers made it 23-21 for the Aggies, Squyres notched two of her four kills in the first to put the set away and give UC Davis a 1-0 lead.
Fullerton would get no closer in the last two sets, never holding the lead in the second set and holding the advantage only briefly in the third. The Titans tallied 12 kills in the final two sets combined after recording 15 in the opening frame while also committing 13 of their 21 errors in the last two sets combined.
The Titans will return home Saturday night to face UC Riverside, a team they defeated in four sets back on Oct. 18 at the SRC Arena.
Notes: Sophomore McKenna Painton returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with tendinitis. She tallied 11 digs on the night… Withers recorded double-digit kills for the 22nd time this season… Olsen's 20 assists were her fewest since dishing out 19 at Hawai'i on Oct. 3… The Titans have had more digs than their opponents 16 times this season, winning four of those matches.