THE WEEK AHEAD:
The Titans conclude their three-game road trip when they head up to UC Davis on Thursday and then return home Saturday night to face UC Riverside at Titan Gym.
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: Titans fans can catch a live video stream of Saturday night's match against UC Riverside from Titan Gym. The link can be found on FullertonTitans.com.
Audio Webcast: An audio webcast will be available for both of the Titans matches this week. Links can be found at FullertonTitans.com.
Live Stats: Live in-game stats for both matches this weekend will be available through the links 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.
PROMOTIONS:
The Titans will hold the second and final autograph session of the season following Saturday night's match against UC Riverside at Titan Gym.
THURSDAY, NOV. 13 AT UC DAVIS (THE PAVILION), 7 P.M.
Cal State Fullerton (7-17, 1-10) at UC Davis (13-11, 8-3)
Series Record: Fullerton leads 13-7
Big West Record: Fullerton leads 10-5
First Meeting: Won, Oct. 29, 2004; 30-25, 30-19, 30-20
Last Meeting: Lost, Oct. 17, 2014; 20-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-21, 13-15
Current Streak: Lost 2
Last 10 Meetings: 6-4
UC DAVIS NOTES:
•The Aggies come into Thursday night's match up with Cal State Fullerton winners of three straight. They swept UC Riverside on the road in their only match of the week on Nov. 8.
•UC Davis is currently third in the Big West Conference standings, trailing undefeated Long Beach State by 2.5 games. The Aggies are also just a half game behind the Rainbow Wahine for second place in the conference, trailing Hawai'i by one in the wins column.
•Junior Kaylin Squyres has had an outstanding season for the Aggies. She leads the team with 375 kills and a 4.12 per set average, both marks ranking first in the Big West. Her .219 hitting percentage ranks second on the team and she tallied 14 kills in the team's win at UC Riverside. Squyres has been named the Big West Conference Player of the Week on three occasions this season, including the week of Nov. 3 when she led the Aggies to a pair of wins over UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly.
•UC Davis has done an excellent job with their service game this season, ranking first in the Big West Conference in aces per set (1.65) and overall service aces (150). Squyres leads the team with 34 aces with Allie Wegener (32) and Erika Conners (31) not far behind.
PREVIOUS MEETING - UC DAVIS 3, CAL STATE FULLERTON 1:
On Oct. 17, the Titans pushed the Aggies to the brink but could not secure the victory, falling in a thrilling five-set match at Titan Gym. McKenna Painton set a new career-high with 19 kills to go along with 10 digs while Mackenzie Olsen recorded a double-double with 54 assists and 13 digs, both of them season highs. Four Titans recorded double-figures in kills with Stephanie Buss, Holland Crenshaw and Niki Withers each posting 12 on the night. In the decisive fifth set, neither team could gain much breathing room as neither side was able to build a lead larger than two points. The Titans held a 3-2 lead early in the frame but the Aggies took the lead on a pair of errors by Fullerton. The teams were tied six times, but that lead change proved to be the only one of the set and the Aggies secured the match on Wegener's 10th kill of the night.
FULLERTON'S HISTORY FACING THE AGGIES:
Cal State Fullerton has gotten the better of the Aggies in the short history between the two teams. The Titans won the first ever match up between the programs in 2004 in straight sets. The Titans had suffered consecutive losses to the Aggies only once in the 10-year history of the series, coming in 2006 when the Aggies swept the season series. But with the Titans loss to UC Davis on Oct. 17, Fullerton has suffered consecutive defeats to UC Davis for the second time in the series' history and will look to avoid a second season-sweep at the hands of the Aggies on Thursday night. The teams have split the season series the past two seasons, with three of those four matches requiring five sets to decide a winner.
SATURDAY VS. UC RIVERSIDE (TITAN GYM), 7 P.M.
UC Riverside (2-21, 0-11) at Cal State Fullerton (7-17, 1-10)
Series Record: Fullerton leads 26-4
Big West Record: Fullerton leads 24-3
First Meeting: Won, Sept. 14, 1984; 15-10, 15-6
Last Meeting: Won, Oct. 18, 2014; 25-20, 29-27, 23-25, 25-22
Current Streak: Won 19
Last 10 Meetings: 10-0
UC RIVERSIDE NOTES:
•The Highlanders were swept by UC Davis on Nov. 8 in their only match of the week. It was the 17th straight loss for UC Riverside. The Highlanders last win came on Sept. 6 when they swept Savannah State at the Southern Utah Tournament.
•Despite the struggles, the Highlanders have done a solid job of getting to the ball on defense. They rank second in the Big West with a 15.08 digs per set average.
•Offensively, the Highlanders are led by Alex Gresham and her 193 kills on the season. Gresham has also played the most sets of any player on the team with 85. Bri Holmes leads the team with a 2.70 kills per set average, tallying 189 kills in 70 sets played while Ashley Cox has a 2.66 average with 170 kills in 64 games played this year.
PREVIOUS MEETING - CAL STATE FULLERTON 3, UC RIVERSIDE 1:
On Oct. 18, Cal State Fullerton snapped a seven-game losing streak thanks to a double-double from McKenna Painton and solid nights from Niki Withers and Mackenzie Olsen with a 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 23-25, 25-22) win at the SRC Center. As a team, the Titans had a .331 hitting percentage and had three players record double-digit kills. Painton led the team with 18 kills while Withers added 14 with a .290 hitting percentage. Olsen dished out 51 assists on the night and came three digs shy of a double-double, recording seven.
FULLERTON'S HISTORY FACING THE HIGHLANDERS:
The Titans and Highlanders first met in 1984 but did not play each other again until 2000. The teams split the first six meetings before the Titans took control of the series. Dating back to November 22, 2002, the Titans have won 23 of the last 24 meetings between the teams including a current 19-match winning streak. The Titans last loss to UC Riverside came on October 28, 2004 at Titan Gym, falling in five sets. The Titans did not lose a set to the Highlanders in 2013 and have not dropped two sets in a match to UC Riverside since 2011.
FIVE FOR FIGHTING:
The Titans have played just three five-set matches this season, but one of those came against UC Davis at Titan Gym on Oct. 17. In fact, the last three matches between the two teams have gone the distance, with the Aggies coming out victorious on the last two occasions.
THE MACK ATTACK:
Setter Mackenzie Olsen has been outstanding for the Titans in recent weeks. Since Oct. 10, Olsen is averaging 10.00 assists per set, having dished out 320 helpers in 32 games played. She's also gotten it done defensively with 70 digs and a 2.19 per set average. Olsen has recorded a double-double in five of the last seven matches including back-to-back efforts against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly. Overall, Olsen has recorded seven double-doubles on the season.
THE 25TH IS SILVER:
Freshman Niki Withers tied a career-high on Nov. 8 with 25 kills in a four-set loss at Cal Poly. Withers hammered down 10 kills in the second set alone and had one of her more efficient performances of the year, hitting .345 on the night with just five errors in 58 attempts, another career high. Withers last recorded 25 kills on Sept. 20 against Georgetown at Titan Gym, but that match went five sets and Withers hit .339 on the afternoon.
ULMER SETS CAREER HIGH:
Devin Ulmer tallied 17 digs on Saturday night at Cal Poly, setting a new career-best. She eclipsed her previous best of 15 digs, set on Oct. 11 against UC Santa Barbara at Titan Gym. This year, Ulmer has tallied double-digit digs on four occasions.
BIG WEST MARKS
The Titans have a few players near the top of the conference rankings:
• Freshman Niki Withers is currently ranked third in the conference with a 3.72 kills per set average, which also ranks 82nd in the nation. She also ranks third in the Big West with 335 total kills.
• Mackenzie Olsen has dished out 9.64 assists per set this season for the Titans, which ranks fifth in the Big West.
• Holland Crenshaw leads the team with a .323 hitting percentage, which ranks sixth in the conference. Crenshaw has tallied 248 kills with 63 errors in 572 attempts this year.
CAROLYN ZIMMERMAN:
In her 13th season at Cal State Fullerton, Carolyn Zimmerman currently possesses an all-time record of 180-203 (.470). The sixth head coach in Fullerton's 37-year history; she is the winningest (.470) head coach in CSF volleyball program history.
