FULLERTON, Calif. – The Titans certainly showed fight, but unfortunately it wasn't enough as Idaho defeated Cal State Fullerton 3-1 (25-17, 27-25, 25-23, 25-17) Saturday afternoon inside Titan Gym to close out the Titan Tournament.
The result has Fullerton at 6-6 heading into Big West play, as it'll open up at CSUN on Tuesday at 7 pm PT.
Summer Kerins put together the most efficient match of her career, as she posted a career-best .667 attack percentage, while accumulating seven kills and two service aces. Alexandra Pestolis made her Cal State Fullerton debut, and it was a good one as she posted a match-high 17 digs.
Neena Dimas was also superb defensively, striking for 14 digs, while Madeline Schneider was the offensive leader for the Titans, accumulating a team-best 12 kills.
Courtney Mueller posted a team-best 19 assists and seven digs, while Nastassja Bowman provided 14 assists.
Things didn't look promising in the opening set, as Fullerton fell 25-17. However, it showed tremendous resilience, posting two separate runs of 5-0 and 4-0 to battle back in the second. The Titans also responded to a big call in the second set, where what looked to be a Felicia Marshall kill turned into a point for Idaho after she was called for hitting the net. In what looked to be a 24-22 Fullerton advantage, instead made it a 23-23 contest.
The Titans stayed poised and outscored the Vandals 4-2 the rest of the way to clinch the set and tie the game at 1-1.
Unfortunately, Idaho was able to show its resiliency from then on, as it edged the Titans 25-23 in set three to go ahead 2-1. The Vandals then took that momentum into the fourth set and finished off the win.
Fullerton aims to rebound next week, as it'll play three Big West teams, beginning with CSUN on Tuesday.
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