Matches 5-7: Grand Canyon Classic
Cal State Fullerton vs. Eastern Kentucky
Date: Friday, September 2
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton vs. Eastern Washington
Date: Saturday, September 3
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton at Grand Canyon
Date: Saturday, September 3
Time: 7:00 p.m
Location: Phoenix, Ariz.
Venue: Antelope Gymnasium
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Video (CSF-GCU Match only): GCULopes.com
CAL STATE FULLERTON TAKES PART IN GRAND CANYON CLASSIC
The Cal State Fullerton volleyball team heads to Phoenix, Ariz., to take part in the Grand Canyon Classic. The Titans open the tournament with Eastern Kentucky on Friday, Sept. 2 at 4:30 p.m., before going up against Eastern Washington and host Grand Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 12 noon and 7 p.m., respectively. Live stats will be available for all matches courtesy of StatBroadcast.com. Cal State Fullerton's match against GCU will be live streamed on GCULopes.com.
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 THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton home volleyball matches will be broadcast live over the internet at FullertonTitans.com. The Titans also offer live streaming video for home volleyball matches courtesy of Big West TV. Fans can catch all the exclusive action from the comfort of their home computers. To access the links, click on the audio or live video links on the schedule page.
FIRST TITAN WIN(S)
Second year head coach Ashley Preston notched her first win as a Titan on opening day of the 2016 season as her squad swept Mississippi Valley State by set scores of 25-17, 25-7, 25-21. It didn't take long for Preston to grab her second win with Cal State Fullerton as the Titans came back the following day and swept South Carolina State 25-12, 25-19, 25-16.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 2 vs. EASTERN KENTUCKY || 4:30 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton vs. Eastern Kentucky
Series Record: Cal State Fullerton leads 1-0
First Meeting: Cal State Fullerton defeated Eastern Kentucky 3-0 in 2010
Last Meeting: Cal State Fullerton defeated Eastern Kentucky 3-0 in 2010
Current Streak: Won 1
Last 10 Meetings: 1-0
EASTERN KENTUCKY NOTES
Eastern Kentucky is looking for its first win of the 2016 season after starting the year 0-3 at a tournament host by Duke. The Colonels dropped matches to LSU (0-3), Duke (2-3) and UNC Greensboro (2-3) in the opening weekend.
After three matches, the Colonels are led by Celina Sanks who is averaging 3.08 kills per game. She also contributes 2.23 digs per set and 0.23 blocks per set. Mallory Maxwell leads the team defensively with 4.77 digs per set, while Rachel Woody (4.31 assists per set) and Maria Ferragonio (4.00 assists per set) split setter duties..
SATURDAY, SEPT. 3 vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON || 12:00 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton vs. Eastern Washington
Series Record: Cal State Fullerton leads 4-2
First Meeting: Cal State Fullerton defeated Eastern Washington 3-2 in 1984
Last Meeting: Cal State Fullerton defeated Eastern Washington 3-0 in 2011
Current Streak: Won 2
Last 10 Meetings: 4-2
EASTERN WASHINGTON NOTES
Eastern Washington brings a 1-2 record into the Grand Canyon Classic after defeating Lamar 3-0 in the season opener, before falling to Kansas (0-3) and Mississippi State (0-3).
SATURDAY, SEPT. 3 at GRAND CANYON || 7:00 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton at Grand Canyon
Series Record: First Meeting
First Meeting: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
Current Streak: N/A
Last 10 Meetings: N/A
GRAND CANYON NOTES
Grand Canyon hosts the tournament and brings a 2-1 record into the weeked after kicking off the season at the Air Force Tournament. The Lopes dropped the season opener by a score of 3-2 to Montana State, but bounced back with a 3-0 sweep of Jacksonville State and a 3-2 win over Air Force.
In just three matches, the Lopes have received a strong showing from Natalie Tardy who produced 42 kills over the weekend to go along with 23 digs, eight blocks and five aces. Heidi Carpenter paced the offense with 76 assists and 21 digs for the Lopes.
ABOUT THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton dropped a mid-week contest to Niagara in its home opener by a score of 3-1 [16-25, 25-27, 25-23, 20-25]. In that contest, Madeline Schneider (14 kills, 13 digs) and Shimen Fayad (20 kills, 13 digs) each recorded a double-double.
Schneider leads the Titans in kills with an average of 4.00 per set, while Fayad is right behind her with 3.62. Summer Kerins has been consistent on offense as she is hitting a team-leading .458 with 25 kills on 48 attempts with just three errors.
Freshman Rachel Hall has done a good job setting the ball with 116 assists to average just under nine assists per set. She has aldo contributed defensively with 38 digs (2.92 per set) which is good for second on the team behind Schneider's 42 (3.23 per set).
GETTING OFFENSIVE
Newcomers sophomore Madeline Schneider and redshirt sophomore Shimen Fayad lead the Cal State Fullerton offense as the duo have combined for 99 of the Titans' 159 kills. Schneider leads the way with 52 kills to average 4.00 per set and Fayad has contributed 47 for an average of 3.62 per game. Additionally, sophomore Summer Kerins owns a team-leading attack percentage of .458 after knocking down 25 kills on 48 attempts, while commiting just three errors.
SETTING THE BAR
Freshman setter Rachel Hall made her collegiate debut in a big way as the Huntington Beach, Calif., native opened the year with 116 assists to average 8.92 per set. Additionally, Hall collected her first collegiate double-double at Chattanooga as she dished out 22 assists and logged 15 digs.
BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore middle blocker Kyra Smith, who led the Titans at the net last season as a freshman, did not waste any time this season. Smith, boasts a team-leading 10 blocks (1 solo block and 9 block assists) on the year as she is now averaging 0.77 blocks per set. Teammate Shimen Fayad provides assistance at the net as she owns seven blocks of her own to average 0.54 oer set.
ACES WILD
Shimen Fayad had quite a day at the line as she served up six aces in one match to help Cal State Fullerton defeat Mississippi Valley State. With her half-dozen service aces, Fayad made her way into the Titans' single-match record book as she tied for fourth most aces in a single match. She now leads the team with seven aces on the year to average 0.54 per set. Teammate Torrey Tinney is also solid on the serve as she has logged five service aces on the season to average 0.38 per set.
UP NEXT
Cal State Fullerton returns home to host the Quality Inn-Placentia Fullerton Classic which runs from Thursday, Sept. 8 through Saturday, Sept. 10. The Titans open the tournament against Air Force on Thursday at 7 p.m., then take on Weber State and the Citadel on Friday, Sept. 9 at 12 noon and 7:30 p.m., respectively. Cal State Fullerton closes out the tournament Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. with a match against Colgate. Live stats, audio and video will be available on FullertonTitans.com.