FULLERTON, Calif. - The Ashley Preston era for Cal State Fullerton women's volleyball got off to a rocky start as the Titans fell to No. 25 Duke 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-17) in the LBSU/CSF Baden Invitational Friday night at Titan Gym.
The Titans (0-1) got 21 assists from senior setter Mackenzie Olsen and were led offensively by Kandace Thomas' eight kills and Paige Reed led the team with nine digs.
For the Blue Devils (2-0), Emily Sklar tallied a team-high 11 kills while Maggie Deichmeister and Emma Paradiso combined for 36 assists while setting Duke to a .450 hitting percentage. The Blue Devils swept both of their matches at Titan Gym on Friday and will wrap up their Baden Invitational slate against Long Beach State Saturday night at 5 p.m.
The Titans had a tough time containing the Blue Devils offense as Duke hit .625 in the opening set, recording 15 kills without an error.
The second set was tighter in the early going with the Titans trailing 13-9 before the Blue Devils put together a 9-2 scoring run to take a commanding 22-11 lead. The Titans did have three blocks in the second set including two solo efforts from freshman Kyra Smith.
The Titans will return to action Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. as they host Alabama in the early game and then wrap up the day with a 7 p.m. match against St. Mary's.
Notes: Friday night's contest was the first meeting all-time between Cal State Fullerton and Duke… Thomas, Smith, Summer Kerins, Kyra Hill and Precious Manu all made their Titans debut on Friday night.
