SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Cal State Fullerton women's volleyball fell to Sacramento State in three sets (9-25, 10-25, 20-25) and Portland in five (25-16, 21-25, 25-12, 17-25, 11-15) Friday in its first two matches of the Hornet Invitational. The results drop Fullerton to 0-5 on the season.
Titans 0, Sacramento State 3
In their first match of the day, the Titans struggled to find a rhythm in the first two sets before coming out strong in the third. They led 11-8 early in the third frame, fell behind but came back to make it a one-point game late, 20-19. A 5-1 run, though, from the Hornets gave them the sweep.
Lyla Traylor paced the Titans versus Sac State, recording six kills on a .107 clip to go with three digs and a block. Bianca Martinez had four kills on a .222 clip and four blocks, while Ameena Campbell had ten digs and four kills.
The Hornets raced to a 6-0 lead in the first frame to start the match. Back-to-back service aces from Koanui capped a 3-0 Titan run to make it 12-6, but Sac State scored the next three to go up 15-6. The Hornets closed the set on a 10-1 to take it 25-9.
In set number two, teams traded points until a 9-0 Hornet run gave Sac State a 13-5 advantage. Traylor and Laura Williams tallied kills on back-to-back plays, but the Hornets finished set two on an 8-1 run to take a 2-0 match lead.
The Titans led throughout the early stages of set three, with kills from Aaliyah Fasavalu, Aubrey Beaver and Traylor putting Fullerton up 9-6. The Hornets came back to take a 18-14 lead, but a Koanui ace and Campbell kill capped a 3-0 run to bring the Titans within a point, 18-17. Fullerton hung around, with back-to-back Martinez kills bringing the score to 20-19 for Sac State. But the Hornets scored five of the set's final six points to seal the sweep.
Titans 2, Portland 3
Fullerton nearly came away with its first win of the season, leading the Pilots 1-0 and again 2-1 in the match before ultimately losing in five. Campbell led the Titans with a career-high 18 kills and 18 digs, while Traylor also had 18 kills on a .366 clip to go with 11 digs. Ryleigh Garis also had a double-double, dishing out 40 assists to go with 13 digs and six blocks.
Beaver posted a career-high 10 kills on a .240 clip and Fasavalu notched a match-high nine blocks and three kills. Chacon totaled 12 digs for the Titans. Despite the loss, Fullerton hit at a .215 percentage to Portland's .167 clip and bested the Pilots in blocks 13-7.
The Titans jumped to a 14-7 lead in the first frame following kills by Traylor, Campbell and a block from Garis and Fasavalu. Fullerton extended its lead to 10, 20-10, after kills from Beaver and Campbell. A Traylor kill and Pilot attack error gave the Titans the 25-16 set one win.
In the second set, Fullerton fought back from a 15-11 deficit to come within a point, 21-20, after a Martinez and Campbell stuff at the net. The Titans again cut Portland's lead to a point, 22-21, after a Pilot service error but Portland scored the next three to win the frame, 25-21.
Set number three belonged to Fullerton from the get go, with a pair of Martinez kills and one from Campbell putting the Titans up 7-2. Fullerton all but put the Pilots away with a 10-0 run later in the set, fueled by five kills from Traylor. A Beaver kill and Leilani Lopez ace followed by a Pilot service error gave Fullerton the 25-12 set win.
Teams traded points to start set four, as a Fasavalu kill tied things up at 10. Portland then used a 5-0 run to go up 15-10. The Pilots scored five of the set's final six points to take the fourth frame, 25-17, and force a fifth set.
In the decisive fifth set, Campbell and Traylor powered home kills to give the Titans an 8-6 advantage and force a Pilot timeout. A kill down the line from Beaver kept Fullerton's lead at two, 10-8. But Portland got hot at just the right time, scoring seven of the game's final eight points to win the frame, 15-11, and the match, 3-2.
The Titans play their third and final match of the Hornet Invitational tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 2 at 10:30 a.m. against San Jose State. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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