Nov. 28, 2009
Long Beach, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton volleyball team won its 18th game of the season and tied the school record for wins in a season as it defeated UNLV in a five-set non-conference match Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State.
The Titans finished the 2009 season with an overall record of 18-12, matching the 1981 team's school record for victories, while also setting a new school record with a .600 season winning percentage. It is just the fifth winning season in school history and third in the last four seasons.
The Rebels drop to 8-19 on the year with the 25-22, 22-25, 19-25, 25-21, 13-15, loss.
Four Fullerton players finished with double figures in kills led by Sophomore Torrie Brown who blasted 15 spikes past Rebel defenders. She was flanked by all-conference first teamer Erin Saddler (14), Alex Wolnisty (14) and the Big West Conference's Freshman Player of the Year Kayla Neto (11).
Wolnisty, playing her last match as a senior, upped her career hitting percentage to .271 to set a new Cal State Fullerton career record, surpassing Becky Howlett's career mark of .267 from 1990-91. In addition, she finished the season with a .312 average, the sixth best single-season performance in school history. With three block assists on the night, she also finished tied for second all-time in block assists (287), and third in both total blocks (342) and blocks per set (0.85) in her four-year career.
The Rebels out-hit the Titans for average .169 to .130 and were led by Kelsey Keeler who tallied 23 kills and hit a team best .283. Keeler also added 10 digs and five blocks in the loss. Cursty Jackson (13 kills, 8 blocks) and Erin Greenwood (12 kills, two blocks) were also Rebel standouts.
UNLV also out-blocked Fullerton 13.0 to 9.0 as a team. Jackson's eight stuffs led the floor. Neto was the leader for the Titans with five blocks.
Titan libero and All-Big West Conference first teamer Cami Croteau scooped a match-high 32 digs in the win, becoming just the 11th Titan to score as many digs in a single match. Not only did it set her season high, but it also tied her with Vanessa Vella's 2005 single-season record of 581 total digs in a season. The 32-dig performance left the junior defender just 10 scoops shy of tying the school record for digs in a career also held by Vella.
Gabrielle Dewberry and Ashley Collier also posted 10 digs in the Titans' finale, with Dewberry scoring a double-double with 25 assists as well. Kayla Lau Hee led the Rebel defense with 22 digs. Samantha Richard added 17.
Carolyn Zimmerman, in her eighth season as the Titans' head coach, upped her overall career record to 108-131 (.452). She holds the school record for both victories and winning percentage. She has led the Titans to a 95-83 (.534) over the past six seasons, by far the most prosperous span in the history of the program.