NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton had a rough night offensively as no player reached double figures in kills in a 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-17) Big West Conference loss to CSUN Tuesday night at the Matadome.
The Titans (0-24, 0-12) remained winless and are now one loss shy of the second worst start in program history as CSUN (6-19, 5-8) outhit Fullerton .365 to .151 for the match.
Megann Delgado led the Titans with eight kills with Precious Manu adding six on the night with a .400 attacking percentage. Katelyn Nielsen posted all five of her kills in the third set and Mackenzie Olsen set a new season high with five kill of her own on seven attempts without an error, good for a .714 attacking percentage, a new career best. Olsen also added 24 assists and seven digs. Paige Reed led the defense with 13 digs.
Senior Cieana Stinson led the Matadors with 15 kills on the night on just three errors. Julie Haake added nine kills, Aeryn Owens posted eight and Stephanie Serna Arreola and Rachel Diaz each had seven. Maddie Leiphardt dished out 40 assists along with three blocks.
Neither team had much going offensively in the opening set as the Matadors posted a meager .188 hitting percentage, but it was better than the Titans' .029 clip. The teams were tied three times but there was only one lead change, which came on a service ace from Leiphardt to put the Matadors up 4-3. After a kill by Summer Kerins tied the score, the Matadors pulled off a 7-0 run to take an 11-4 lead. The Titans countered with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to one, but the Matadors answered right back with an 8-2 run to put the set away.
In the second, the teams were neck-and-neck through the early going. With the Matadors ahead 17-16, Owens hammered down a kill to start an 8-2 run that closed out the set for CSUN to put the hosts up 2-0 in the match.
After eight more ties and four lead changes in the third set, the Matadors got a magnificent effort from Stinson who posted eight of her kills in the final frame to put the match away. She posted four of those kills during a 9-2 scoring run for CSUN that turned a 9-9 tie into a seven point lead for the Matadors, one they would not relinquish.
The Titans will return to Titan Gym this weekend to host UC Santa Barbara on Friday afternoon followed by a Saturday tilt against Cal Poly on Saturday night.
Notes: Olsen's previous career high in attacking percentage came in her first match as a Titan as she posted a .629 (5-0-8) percentage against Bucknell on Aug. 29, 2014… The Titans posted more digs than the Matadors on Tuesday night, 35-29… Overall, the match featured 17 ties and eight lead changes.
