CHATTANOOGA – Despite double-double efforts from Madeline Schneider and Rachel Hall, the Cal State Fullerton volleyball team was unable to overcome 24 attack errors which led to a .016 hitting percentage as the Titans dropped a 3-0 [11-25, 18-25, 17-25] contest to Chattanooga at the UT Chattanooga Tournament on Sunday afternoon.
The Titans (2-1) suffered their first loss of the 2016 season to the Mocs (4-0) after being out-hit .204 to .016. Chattanooga held the advantage over Cal State Fullerton in kills (38-24), assists (36-25), digs (67-51), aces (6-2) and team blocks (6.0-4.0).
"Chattanooga is a great cohesive team, whereas the majority of our starters are new," Cal State Fullerton head coach Ashley Preston said. "This match really showed what we need to work on both individually and as a team."
In the match, Schneider led both teams with 11 kills, however she committed 11 attack errors to counter and leave her with a .000 attack percentage. She also added 12 digs for a double-double before ending the contest with 11.0 points.
Hall had another solid outing as she distributed 22 assists and logged a team-high 15 digs for her first double-double of her collegiate career. She also added one service ace in the setback.
Chattanooga took a 7-0 lead in the first set and never looked back as the Mocs limited the Titans to a -.114 attack percentage. Cal State Fullerton trailed the entire first set as Chattanooga rolled to a 25-11 win.
Cal State Fullerton fought back in the second set as the Titans tied the game five times before Chattanooga took a 13-12 lead which it would hold the rest of the set. The Mocs went on to defeat the Titans 25-18.
Down 2-0 heading into the third set, Cal State Fullerton turned in a gritty performance as the Titans fought through 10 ties and four lead changes before Chattanooga broke through with an 8-0 run as the Mocs went up 23-15. From there, Chattanooga claimed a 25-17 win to seal the set and match.
Chattanooga received strong performances from Kristy Wieser and Allie Davenport who each tallied 10 kills, while setter Lauren Greenspoon dished out 28 assists. Defensively, the Mocs received a solid effort from Rachel Petkosh who notched 29 digs in the match.
Cal State Fullerton looks to get back on the winning track when it returns home to host Niagara on Tuesday, August 30 at 7 p.m., inside Titan Gym.
"In preparation for Niagara, we are going to focus on capitalizing when we have opportunities to score," Preston said.
Titan fans can follow Cal State Fullerton volleyball on live stats, tune into the broadcast or watch the live stream on FullertonTitans.com.