Matches 15-16: UC Riverside & UC Irvine
Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Riverside
Date: Saturday, September 24
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Titan Gym (Fullerton, Calif.)
Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Irvine
Date: Wednesday, September 28
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Titan Gym (Fullerton, Calif.)
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com
Video: FullertonTitans.com
Audio: FullertonTitans.com
Tickets: FullertonTitans.com/Tickets
UC RIVERSIDE || BIG WEST CONFERENCE OPENER || & UC IRVINE
The Cal State Fullerton volleyball team returns to Titan Gym for its Big West Conference opener at 7 p.m., Saturday, hosting UC Riverside. The Titans will play two straight home matches as UC Irvine visits at 7 p.m., Wednesday.
KIDS CLUB FAMILY & FRIENDS DAY
All members of the Titans Kids Club are welcome to attend Saturday's match and stand on the court with the team during introductions. All kids must check-in 30 minutes prior to the start of the game in order to participate. Saturday's match is a Titan Kids Club Family & Friends Day: Each Titan Kids Club member will receive (4) general admission tickets to invite friends and family to the match.
MORE KIDS CLUB
The Titan Kids Club presented by Kaiser Permanente is an exclusive membership club for children in 8th grade and younger. Membership includes a Titan Kids Club T-shirt and free admission to all regular season Titan athletic events plus more (child must wear their Titan Kids Club shirt to receive free admission to games.) Read about the Kids Club HERE.
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 one hour prior to the scheduled time at the specific venue. All Cal State Fullerton students with a school ID get free admission.
FOLLOW THE TITANS
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the volleyball team has established its own official Twitter page (@FullertonVB).
CATCH THE TITANS
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.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 24 vs. UC Riverside || 7:00 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Riverside
Series Record: CSF leads 28-6
Big West Series Record: CSF leads 26-5
Home vs. UCR: 16-2
First Meeting: W, 2-0 (Sept. 14, 1984) || Titan Gym
Last Meeting: L, 3-0 (Nov. 7, 2015) || Titan Gym
Current Streak: Lost 2Last 10 Meetings: 8-2
UC RIVERSIDE NOTES
• UC Riverside (5-7) snapped a three-match losing streak with a 3-2 victory over San Francisco last week.
• The Highlander offense is struggling ranking last in the Big West Conference in hitting percentage (.145), assists per set (10.67) and kills per set (11.49).
• UCR leads the Big West with 16.27 digs per set.
• The Titans and Highlanders have opened up Big West Conference against one another twice with UCR winning both meetings at SRC Arena (2015, 2002).
CONFERENCE OPENERS
• Dating back to 1980, Cal State Fullerton is 4-32 in conference opening matches.• Playing at home in conference openers, the Titans are 3-14.
• Cal State Fullerton has not won a Big West Conference opener since a 3-0 sweep of Cal Poly at Titan Gym on Sept. 23, 2011.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 28 vs. UC Irvine || 7:00 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Irvine
Series Record: UCI leads 41-29
Big West Series Record: UCI leads 36-26
Home vs. UCI: 18-16
First Meeting: W, 3-0 (Oct. 22, 1980) || Location Unknown
Last Meeting: L, 3-1 (Oct. 21, 2015) || Titan Gym
Current Streak: Lost 6
Last 10 Meetings: 4-6
UC IRVINE NOTES
• UC Irvine (5-9) hosts CSUN on Thursday in its Big West Conference opener before Long Beach State visits on Saturday.
• The Anteaters have played three ranked opponents this year, finishing 1-3 with the victory a three-set sweep of then No. 7 USC at the USC Baden Invitational on Aug. 27.
• The Anteaters' 1.54 service aces per set ranks third in the Big West Conference.
ABOUT THE TITANS
• Cal State Fullerton (5-9), who was winless in 2015, has already secured five victories this season.
• The Titans enter Saturday's match vs. UC Riverside with a conference winless streak dating back to Nov. 15, 2014 (19 matches), when they captured a 3-0 victory over the Highlanders.
• Cal State Fullerton's 15.12 digs per set rank fourth in the Big West Conference.
• Summer Kerins ' .365 hitting percentage leads Cal State Fullerton and ranks fifth in the Big West.
• Shimen Fayad's 3.34 kills per set rank seventh in the conference, and her 0.32 aces per set rate eighth in the league.
• Fayad and Madeline Schneider have combined to lead the Titans' offense with Fayad posting 167 kills (3.34 per set) and Schneider registering 155 kills (3.10 per set).
• Defensively, the Titans' Madisen Babich leads the way with 3.72 digs per set, while Kyra Smith leads the team at the net with 0.98 blocks per set.
SETTING THE BAR
Freshman Rachel Hall has done a good job setting the ball with 406 assists to average 7.96 assists per set, while Precious Manu's 131 assists are good for 5.46 assists per set.
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 year. Smith, boasts a team-leading 50 blocks (10 solo blocks and 40 block assists) on the year as she is now averaging 0.98 blocks per set.
ACES WILD
Shimen Fayad had quite a day at the line in the opening weekend 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 16 aces on the year to average 0.32 per set.
UP NEXT
After hosting UC Riverside in its Big West Conference opener on Saturday, Cal State Fullerton will return to Titan Gym at 7 p.m. Wednesday to host UC Irvine.
FALL TV DATES
The Cal State Fullerton women's volleyball team will be featured once as part of the Big West Conference's fall television schedule on ESPN3.The Titans will appear on ESPN3 on Saturday, Oct. 8, when the Titans welcome UC Davis to Titan Gym for a 3 p.m. match.
The Big West Conference unveiled its 13-event fall schedule on ESPN3, which commences on Sept. 30 with a women's volleyball match between Cal Poly and Long Beach State.
Eleven women's volleyball and two women's soccer contests comprise the slate in the fourth year of a collaboration between the Big West and ESPN, producing 60-plus ESPN3 events annually.
All nine member schools will be showcased at least once in the package.
ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through WatchESPN. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.