FULLERTON, Calif. – Madeline Schneider's 18-kill performance was not enough as Cal State Fullerton suffered a 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25, 17, 30-28) loss to UC Davis in Big West Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Titan Gym.
Looking to take the match to a fifth set, The Titans (6-12, 1-3 BWC) held a 24-21 edge in the fourth game as match point seemed out of the reach for the Aggies (9-9, 2-3 BWC), until two kills and a service ace from UCD quickly evened the score at 24-24.
UCD had two match point attempts thwarted by the Titans until with the fourth set knotted at 28-28, Davis' Lauren Matias delivered her 34th kill of the afternoon and Malia Bolka delivered the match winner with her first ace of the contest.
The Titans have now lost three in a row.
Matias' match-high 34 kills are the most for a Titan opponent in 2016. UC Davis hit .353 for the match as Aima Eichie added 17 kills and five blocks, while Emily Allen posted a double-double of 10 kills and 14 digs. Bolko also found her way to a match-high 31 digs.
With 10 kills and a team-leading 14 digs, Shimen Fayad produced her team-leading 10th double-double of the year for the Titans, while Meagan Carlson added 10 kills attacking at clip of .391. As a team, Cal State Fullerton finished the match with a .209 attacking percentage. Rachel Hall led the attack with 30 assists.
UCD hit a blistering .516 to win the first set. The Titans evened the score, 1-1, taking the second set as a service error followed by a Fayad service ace produced the final two points for Fullerton. In the third set, Davis totaled 19 kills while Fullerton was held to nine.
Cal State Fullerton remains at home next week hosting Cal Poly at 7 p.m., Friday and UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m., Saturday.
