Cal State Fullerton goes up the coast this weekend to pay a visit to second-place Cal Poly followed by a matchup with UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night.
FOLLOW THE TITANS:
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CATCH ALL THE ACTION:
Television: None
Streaming Video: A live video stream will be available for both matches this weekend. Links are available at FullertonTitans.com
Audio Webcast: None
Live Stats: Live in-game stats for both of the Titans matches will be available. Links at FullertonTitans.com.
FRIDAY, OCT. 16 AT CAL POLY
(MOTT ATHLETIC CENTER), 7 P.M.
Cal State Fullerton at Cal Poly
Series Record: Cal Poly leads 48-10
First Meeting: Lost, Sept. 17, 1981, 15-4, 15-4
Last Meeting: Lost, Nov. 8, 2014, 27-29, 28-26, 18-25, 24-26
Current Streak: Lost 2
Last 10 Meetings: 5-5
CAL POLY NOTES:
NELSON CONTINUES TO CLIMB THE PROGRAM RECORD BOOK: During Cal Poly's four-set win over UC Santa Barbara last Saturday, sophomore Taylor Nelson took over No. 9 in program career assist history, passing Sarah Cawrse (2009-11) with her 1,491st helper.
NIEMEN NEARLY EQUALS SINGLE MATCH ACE TOTAL: Last Saturday against the Gauchos, middle blocker Savannah Niemen recorded six service aces, which was two away from tying the program's single-match record set back in 1989 by Michelle Hansen.
SWEEPING SUCCESS: With two sweep victories during all of last season, Cal Poly has already secured six such triumphs this year, one away from the total number of sweep wins during the 2011 season.
RECORDS WERE MEANT TO BE BROKEN: The last time Cal Poly began Big West play with four wins during its first five matches? 2010. The Mustangs have a chance to equal the 6-1 start from the 2008 season to open conference play with wins over Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside this week.
NOTEWORTHY OPENING CONTINUES: Cal Poly's 12-4 start to the season is the best 16-match opening to a schedule since 2010, when the Mustangs began 14-4 overall.
ADLEE ALREADY ACHIEVING: During her first 16 collegiate matches, Cal Poly freshman outside hitter Adlee Van Winden has amassed 234 kills, which includes four matches with at least 20 kills. The true freshman has already been named the Big West Conference Freshman Player of the Week four times this season and her kill total is good for fourth among all Big West attackers. Van Winden's 3.97 kills per set place also place her third in the conference entering the week. The true freshman has compiled double-digit kill totals in 14 of her initial 16 collegiate matches, including a career-best 21 during a four-set win over No. 24 Long Beach State.
NELSON KNOWS ASSISTS: Sophomore Taylor Nelson has 625 assists through the season's first 16 matches – an average of 10.96 per set – good for first among all Big West Conference players heading into the week. The PrepVolleyball.com's National Player of the Year in 2013 tallied a season-best 52 assists twice this season, against Portland on Sept. 12 and Sacramento State on Aug. 29. Nelson amassed 43 helpers during the four-set victory over UC Santa Barbara last Saturday. The sophomore has now amassed 1,505 assists during her collegiate career, after an 880-assist campaign as a freshman last season and has moved into No. 9 all-time in program assist history.
SATURDAY, OCT. 17 AT UC SANTA BARBARA
(THE THUNDERDOME), 7 P.M.
Cal State Fullerton at UC Santa Barbara
Series Record: UC Santa Barbara leads 61-8
First Meeting: Lost, Oct. 1, 1982, 1-15, 6-15, 12-15
Last Meeting: Lost, Nov. 7, 2014, 20-25, 25-22, 15-25, 15-25
Current Streak: Lost 5
Last 10 Meetings: 4-6
UC SANTA BARBARA NOTES:
Nielson Ratings
Setter Hanna Nielson missed UCSB's matches with CSUN and Long Beach State, but made a strong return to the floor with her performances last weekend. First she tallied 19 assists with six digs at UC Davis and then hit a season-high with 28 assists at Cal Poly. Nielson is also one of UCSB's top servers and, in fact, leads the Big West with a 0.5 aces per set average in conference play.
Can You Dig It?
Emilia Petrachi started off the season strong as one of the top liberos in the conference with 4.38 digs per set, which ranks second in the Big West. After playing in a limited role in the final three matches of the non-conference schedule, Petrachi has become the team's starting libero in every Big West match. Since then, she has averaged 4.72 scoops per set, which trails only UC Riverside's Maddie Hubbell (4.78). Against conference opponents, the libero has recorded 85 digs (fourth), but what's most impressive is that she is just five digs behind league leader Malia Bolko despite having played in three fewer sets than her. Petrachi made Gaucho history at Pepperdine where she recorded 30 digs in just four sets. She became the first UCSB player in three years to reach the 30-dig plateau.
Building Blocks
Anchored by the play of Phoebe Grunt and Elizabeth Sheffield, the Gauchos have seen an improvement in blocking this season. Entering this weekend, UCSB is fourth in the league with 2.03 blocks per set. At their current pace, the Gauchos are projected to finish 2015 with 203 roofs. Leading the team in blocks per set are Sheffield (0.95) and Grunt (0.88) as they rank seventh and 11th in the Big West, respectively.
Serve It Up
UCSB is fifth in the Big West with 1.37 service aces per set. With 79 aces overall, the Gauchos have surpassed the 76-ace mark they set last season through their first 16 matches. Two Gauchos have hit double figures in the category with Elizabeth Sheffield and Annie Hasselmann leading the team with 16 and 13 aces, respectively. Sheffield set a program record at Yale, where she recorded seven service aces – including five in a row – in the first set alone.
DELGADO CAN DIG IT:
Freshman Megann Delgado set a new career high with 11 digs against UC Davis on Oct. 10. It was Delgado's first double-digit dig performance of her career. She also became the seventh different Titans player to post at least one double-digit performance this season.
QUEEN OF THE HILL:
Kyra Hill led the Titans with 11 kills at UC Davis on Oct. 10. It was her fifth double-digit kill performance of the season and she currently leads the Titans with 119 kills and a 2.38 p/s average. Hill has recorded double digits in three of the last four matches, tying her career high with 16 against UC Riverside.
PUT THE SUITCASE AWAY:
Following this weekend's matches, the Titans will play four of their next five at Titan Gym. So far, the Titans have played 12 of their 16 matches away from home (six road, six neutral site). They will wrap up the season with seven of their last 10 matches at home, beginning Oct. 23 vs. UC Irvine.
THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY:
Fullerton has lost its first 16 matches of the season for the fourth time since 1980 and first since 1994. The Titans went 1-28 after losing the first 26 matches of the season. In 1993, Fullerton lost 18 straight games to open the year and dropped 25 straight to start 1992.
