Match 4: Niagara at Cal State Fullerton
Date: Tuesday, August 30
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Titan Gym (4,000)
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com
Audio: FullertonTitans.com
Video: FullertonTitans.com
Tickets: FullertonTitans.com/Tickets
Series Record: First Meeting
TITANS HOST NIAGARA IN HOME OPENER
The 2016 Cal State Fullerton volleyball team welcomes Niagara University to historic Titan Gym for the Titans' home opener on Tuesday, August 30 at 7 p.m. The Titans and Purple Eagles will face off for the first time ever in program history. Live stats, video and audio will be available on FullertonTitans.com.
FOLLOW THE TITANS
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), Instagram (@FullertonTitans), and YouTube.com (YouTube.com/csfathletics). In addition, the volleyball team has established its own official Twitter page (@FullertonVB).
CATCH THE TITANS ONLINE
Cal State Fullerton home volleyball matches will be broadcast live over the internet at FullertonTitans.com. The Titans also offer live streaming video for home volleyball matches courtesy of Big West TV. Fans can catch all the exclusive action from the comfort of their home computers. To access the links, click on the audio or live video links on the schedule page.
TICKETS
Tickets for all Titans home games can be purchased online at fullertontitans.com, or at the Cal State Fullerton Athletics Ticket Office, located in the Titan House on campus off of Gymnasium Drive on the northeast side of Titan Gym. Game day sales and will call tickets will open an hour prior to the scheduled time at the specific venue. All Cal State Fullerton students with a school ID get free admission.
FIRST TITAN WIN(S)
Second year head coach Ashley Preston notched her first win as a Titan on opening day of the 2016 season as her squad swept Mississippi Valley State by set scores of 25-17, 25-7, 25-21. It didn't take long for Preston to grab her second win with Cal State Fullerton as the Titans came back the following day and swept South Carolina State 25-12, 25-19, 25-16.
YOUNG GUNS
The Cal State Fullerton coaching staff is one of the youngest in the nation as the three full-time coaches are a combined 92 years old. In addition, volunteer assistant Naseri Tumanuvao preps for his first season at Cal State Fullerton at 29 years of age.
TUESDAY, AUG. 30 vs. NIAGARA || 7:00 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton vs. Niagara
Series Record: First Meeting
First Meeting: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
Current Streak: N/A
Last 10 Meetings: N/A
NIAGARA NOTES
Niagara comes into Titan Gym looking for its first win of the 2016 season after starting the year 0-3 at the LMU Invitational. The Purple Eagles dropped their season opener to No. 12 UCLA 3-0 (14-25, 15-25, 12-25), before falling to No. 21 Loyola Marymount 3-1 (29-27, 20-25, 14-25, 17-25) and Illinois State 3-0 (10-25, 21-25, 11-25).
The Purple Eagles struggled offensively last weekend as they hit just .046, while averaging 7.20 kills per set. Niagara's defense averaged 1.5 blocks per set to go along with 11.70 digs per set, however their counterparts hit .286.
Niagara is led by Madison May and Caroline Leitch who both average 1.70 kills per set, while Nicole Matheis is right behind them with 1.60 kills per game. Alexis Gray is the Purple Eagles' setter as she dished out 47 assists in the opening weekend to notch 4.70 assists per set. Rylee Hunt anchors the defense with a team-best 3.70 digs per set, while Alex Stone guards the net putting up eight total blocks in three matches to average 0.80 blocks per set.
ABOUT THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton kicked off the year with a pair of wins over Mississippi Valley State and South Carolina State before falling to host, Chattanooga, to complete the season opening weekend.
As a team, the Titans are hitting .161, while averaging 12.00 kills per set on 11.33 assists per game. Defensively, Cal State Fullerton has averaged 15.33 digs per set as the Titans have four players in double-figure digs in Madeline Schneider, Rachel Hall, Torrey Tinney and Shimen Fayad. At the net, Cal State Fullerton has gotten a strong start from Kyra Smith (0.89 blocks per game) and Fayad (0.78 blocks per set).
GETTING OFFENSIVE
Newcomers sophomore Madeline Schneider and redshirt sophomore Shimen Fayad led the Cal State Fullerton offense as the duo combined for 65 kills over the weekend. Schneider led the way with 38 kills to average 4.22 per set and Fayad contributed 27 for an average of 3.00 per game. Additionally, sophomore Summer Kerins turned in a team-leading attack percentage of .345 after knocking down 13 kills on 29 attempts, while commiting just three errors.
SETTING THE BAR
Freshman setter Rachel Hall made her collegiate debut in a big way as the Huntington Beach, Calif., native finished the weekend with 81 assists to average 9.00 per set. Additionally, Hall collected her first collegiate double-double at Chattanooga as she dished out 22 assists and logged 15 digs.
BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore middle blocker Kyra Smith, who led the Titans at the net last season as a freshman, did not waste any time this season. Smith, posted a team-leading eight blocks on the weekend as she is now averaging 0.89 blocks per set. Teammate Shimen Fayad provided assistance at the net as she recorded seven blocks of her own to average 0.78 oer set.
ACES WILD
Shimen Fayad had quite a day at the line as she served up six aces in one match to help Cal State Fullerton defeat Mississippi Valley State. With her half-dozen service aces, Fayad made her way into the Titans' single-match record book as she tied for fourth most aces in a single match. She now leads the team with seven aces on the year to average 0.78 per set. Teammate Torrey Tinney also turned in a solid effort on the serve as she logged five services aces on the weekend to average 0.56 per set.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The Titans welcome 10 new faces to the gym this season. Here is a quick run down.
• Madisen Babich - Prepped at Lyons Township High School in LaGrange, Ill., and was named to the All-Conference, All-Academic and All-State team as a senior. She is second in school history in digs.
• Meagan Carlson - A 2016 graduate of Damonte Ranch High School in Reno, Nev., she was named to the All-Sierra League First Team all three seasons and earned First Team All-North honors in her final two seasons with the team. As a senior, she finished with 219 kills and 2.9 per set average. Also dished out 32 assists and tallied 16 total blocks.
• Annie Ellis - A setter from Golden West College where she played beach volleyball, Ellis is a two-time All Orange Conference selection who also played volleyball at Georgia State and UC Riverside. In high school, she helped lead Colony High School to the Mt. Baldy League Championship in 2011 and 2012.
• Shimen Fayad - After redshirting the 2014 season, Fayad played in 35 matches and made 31 starts at Wichita State. She played in 122 sets and tallied 277 kills, good for a 2.27 per set average. She was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Tournament Team after hitting .333 (25-6-57) in two matches, helping lead the Shockers to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in nine years and ninth time overall. Fayad was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team.
• Delaney Goodrich - A transfer from St. Francis (Pa.), the middle blocker saw action in five matches with one start.She prepped at Los Osos High School where she was named the 2014 Baseline League Defensive Player of the Year and to the First Team all conference squad.
• Rachel Hall - A 2016 graduate of Huntington Beach High School, Hall earned Sunset League MVP honors during her junior and senior seasons. As a senior she was named First Team All-Orange County, First Team All-CIF as she averaged 10.4 assists and 4.6 digs per set, helping to lead the Oilers to a 28-9 overall record. She earned All-American honors and was also a scholar athlete, earning honorable mention.
• Aniya Henry - All-District Honorable Mention as a senior at Frisco High School where she tallied 164 kills and 112 blocks (76 solo) as a senior for the Raccoons. In two years, she tallied 201 blocks (102 solo) and 268 kills in 227 sets played (1.20 per set).
• Kellyn Mullaly - A libero and setter out of Golden West College, Mullaly was named First Team All-Orange Empire Conference and to the All-Region Team after averaging 5.23 digs per set.
• Madeline Schneider - Schneider joins the Titans as a transfer from UMBC after one season with the Retrievers. She was second on the team with 227 kills and 2.99 kills per set average. She also tallied 11 aces, 92 digs, 30 total blocks and was named to the America East All-Rookie Team.
• Torrey Tinney - Tinney transfered to Cal State Fullerton from Mississippi State where she appeared in 16 matches with five starts as a defensive specialist. Prior to her year at Mississippi State, she was a libero at La Costa Canyon High School (Calif.) where she helped her team to a 22-8 record and a showing in the championship match of the CIF San Diego Section Tournment in her senior year.
UP NEXT
Cal State Fullerton travels to Phoenix, Ariz., this weekend to take part in the Grand Canyon Classic. The Titans open up the tournament against Eastern Kentucky on Friday, Sept. 2 at 4:30 p.m., before taking on Eastern Washington at 12 noon on Saturday, Sept. 3. Cal State Fullerton closes out the tournament at Grand Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.