THE WEEK AHEAD:
The Titans return home to Titan Gym this weekend as they welcome Cal Poly on Friday night followed by defending Big West Conference tri-champion UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night.
FOLLOW THE TITANS:
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), Instagram (@FullertonTitans), and YouTube.com (YouTube.com/csfathletics). In addition, the volleyball team has established its own official Twitter page (@FullertonVB).
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Television: None
Streaming Video: Streaming video for both matches this weekend will be available. Links can be found at FullertonTitans.com.
Audio Webcast: An audio webcast of Friday and Saturday's matches will be available online. Links are available at FullertonTitans.com.
Live Stats: Live in-game stats will be available for both matches this weekend. Links can be found at FullertonTitans.com
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 an hour prior to the scheduled time at the specific venue. All Cal State Fullerton students with a school ID get free admission.
TITANS PROMOTIONS:
Fans attending Friday's match against Cal Poly will receive a Titans Keychain while supplies last. After Friday, there will be two promotions left on the Titans schedule. On Oct. 17, the Titans will have a Rally Buff giveaway while supplies last as the Titans take on UC Davis. On Nov. 15, the Titans will hold their second and final autograph session of the season following the match against UC Riverside.
FRIDAY, OCT. 10 VS. CAL POLY (TITAN GYM), 7 P.M.
Cal State Fullerton (6-10, 0-3) vs. Cal Poly (6-7, 1-2)
Series Record: Cal Poly leads 46-10
Big West Record: Cal Poly leads 36-10
First Meeting: Lost, Sept. 17, 1981; 4-15, 5-15
Last Meeting: Won, Nov. 23, 2013; 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-19
Current Streak: Won 1
Last 10 Meetings: 7-3
CAL POLY NOTES:
•The Mustangs are in the midst of playing five of the next seven matches away from home, beginning Friday night at Titan Gym. Cal Poly currently holds a 1-5 combined record in road and neutral site matches.
•Cal Poly's 2014 recruiting class was ranked No. 23 by PrepVolleyball.com and the Mustangs have been riding the youth moment this year. Cal Poly has started a minimum of five freshmen in every match this season.
•Raeann Greisen leads Cal Poly with 178 kills and a 3.42 kills per set average. Greisen's kills per set average ranks sixth in the conference. In three Big West matches, Greisen is averaging 3.77 kills per set as she has tallied 49 kills in 13 games played. She is also averaging 2.92 digs per set in Big West play while boasting a 2.48 average overall.
•Junior libero Nicole Kessler has anchored the Mustangs' defense in 2014. She leads the team with 231 digs and a 4.44 digs per set average, which ranks second in the Big West. Kessler has recorded double-digit digs in all but one match for the Mustangs this season.
FULLERTON'S HISTORY FACING THE MUSTANGS:
Cal Poly dominated Fullerton early on in the history of the series, but the Titans have turned the tables in recent years. Since 2009, the Titans are 7-3 against Cal Poly including a five-match winning streak that spanned from 2009 to 2011. Last season, the Titans split a pair of matches with Cal Poly as each team won on the other's home court.
SATURDAY, OCT. 11 VS. UC SANTA BARBARA (TITAN GYM), 7 P.M.
Cal State Fullerton (6-10, 0-3) vs. UCSB (7-7, 2-1)
Series Record: UCSB leads 59-8
Big West Record: UCSB leads 44-8
First Meeting: Lost, Oct. 1, 1982; 1-15, 6-15, 12-15
Last Meeting: Lost, Nov. 22, 2013; 22-25, 18-25, 21-25
Current Streak: Lost 3
Last 10 Meetings: 5-5
UCSB NOTES:
•The Gauchos are coming off the ninth Big West Conference title in the program's history after finishing 2013 with a 13-3 conference record. During that season, the Gauchos began the year with a 5-7 record in its non-conference schedule. UCSB will be looking for a repeat performance as they began the 2014 year with a 5-6 record in non-conference games.
•Taylor Britton leads the Gauchos with a 2.78 kills per set average and is second on the squad with 125 kills. Britton tallied 10 kills and a .333 hitting percentage in UCSB's sweep of UC Riverside on Oct. 3.
•Along with Britton, Jaylen Villanueva is carrying the Gauchos' offense, leading the team with 133 kills in 48 sets played. Her 2.77 kills per set average ranks only behind Britton on the team. She tallied 10 kills in the Gauchos victory over UC Riverside on Oct. 3.
•As a team, the Gauchos are averaging 2.19 blocks per set, which ranks fourth in the Big West. They are led by Allie Sullberg, who has tallied 47 blocks (5 solo) in 46 sets for a team-best 1.02 blocks per set average.
FULLERTON'S HISTORY FACING THE GAUCHOS:
The Titans have lost three straight meetings against UC Santa Barbara but their fortunes against the Gauchos have been on the upswing in recent history. The Titans defeated UCSB in five sets on Nov. 4, 2006 for the program's first victory over the Gauchos after dropping the first 52 meetings. The Titans would win eight of 12 meetings before dropping the last three.
THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Cal State Fullerton suffered its fourth consecutive loss after falling to No. 24 Hawai'i 3-0 (18-25, 19-25, 15-25) Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. Holland Crenshaw led the Titans with seven kills and freshman Katelyn Nielsen added five. Freshman Niki Withers added four kills and Mackenzie Olsen dished out 19 assists. The Titans jumped out to a quick 7-1 advantage in the first set to put the hosts on their heels early. Crenshaw hammered down two of her kills in that opening run while Withers and Nielsen each added one with a pair of attacking errors by the Rainbow Wahine peppered in between.
But the Rainbow Wahine came out of a timeout and proceeded to score 14 of the next 18 points to take a 15-11 lead. They would pull away late and clinch the set on a kill from Olivia Magill, who finished the night with four without an error.
Overall, the Titans had 27 digs while Hawai'i notched 24. It was the Titans fifth loss when recording more digs than their opponent.
TAKING ON THE BEST OF THE WEST:
The front end of the Titans' Big West Conference schedule proves to be a tough road. Fullerton kicked off the conference schedule against defending conference tri-champion CSUN on Friday, which was picked to finish fourth in the 2014 BWC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Titans followed that with a match against Long Beach State, which was picked to finish second in the conference in the same poll. The Titans faced the preseason favorite to win the conference on Friday night as the Rainbow Wahine recorded a sweep of Fullerton. Hawai'i garnered five first-place votes in the poll. The Titans will take on defending tri-champion UC Santa Barbara in on Saturday, which was picked to finish third and received two first-place votes, meaning the Titans will have played the preseason top-four teams in the conference in their first five conference matches.
THE SINGLE LIFE:
Cal State Fullerton did not have an individual record double-digit kills for the second consecutive match in Friday night's loss at No. 24 Hawai'i. It was also the first time the Titans. The Gauchos also had the well run dry in a three-set loss to UC Davis on Oct. 4 as no individual tallied more than six kills in the sweep.
TURN AWAY FROM THE SKID:
The Titans enter this weekend having lost four straight matches and 12 straight sets. Fullerton has also lost eight of the last 10 matches after starting the season winning four of the first six matches. Cal Poly enters Friday night after putting an end to a three-match losing streak with a victory over Riverside on Oct. 4. The Mustangs dropped their final non-conference match to Santa Clara and the first two conference matches against UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis prior to the win. They also had a four-match losing streak earlier in the season, all coming on the road.
BIG WEST MARKS
The Titans also have a couple of players near the top of the conference rankings:
• Freshman Niki Withers is currently ranked second in the conference with a 3.78 kills per set average, which also ranks 67th in the nation. She also ranks third in the Big West with 219 total kills.
• Mackenzie Olsen has dished out 9.44 assists per set this season for the Titans, which ranks fifth in the Big West. Her 538 total assists ranks fifth in the conference.
CAROLYN ZIMMERMAN:
In her 13th season at Cal State Fullerton, Carolyn Zimmerman currently possesses an all-time record of 179-196 (.477). The sixth head coach in Fullerton's 37-year history; she is the winningest (.477) head coach in CSF volleyball program history.