FULLERTON, Calif. — Cal State women's volleyball defeated Long Beach State in four sets Tuesday night at Titan Gym in its Big West Conference home opener.
Julia Crawford led the Titan offense with 16 kills on a .378 clip while adding a service ace and 10 digs. Danielle Jefferies contributed 12 kills with no errors, while Lolo Fonua also tallied 12 kills on the night, a new career-high. Fonua added four digs and three aces.
Bianca Martinez recorded eight kills and a pair of blocks for the Titans, while Lyla Traylor had six kills, six digs, an ace and an assist. Elizabeth Schuster orchestrated a Titan offense that notched a .311 hitting percentage, dishing out a match-high 47 assists.
As a team, the Titans posted 42 digs to Long Beach State's 37 while holding The Beach to a .274 hitting percentage. Tuesday's win was Cal State Fullerton's first over Long Beach State since October 18th, 2019.
Long Beach State took control early in the first set, going up 4-0 before a kill from Traylor put the Titans on the board. Cal State Fullerton kept things close with back-to-back kills by Crawford before an 8-0 run from The Beach gave Long Beach State a 19-8 lead. The Beach went on to take set one, 25-16.
The Titans responded strong in the second period, as another pair of Crawford kills gave them an 11-10 advantage. Three straight points from The Beach put the Titans in a 16-13 hole before back-to-back kills from Fonua tied the game at 16. A Fonua ace followed by a kill from Jefferies later put the Titans up 20-17. Crawford then finished off the 25-21 set win for Cal State Fullerton with another kill.
S2 | Crawford finishes off the 25-21 set win for the Titans!!
— Titans Volleyball (@Fullerton_WVB) September 28, 2022
We're tied at one set apiece in this one. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/7fo1Hk7Nrv
Both teams kept things close in the third set, as another pair of kills from Crawford put the Titans up 9-8. After falling in a 12-10 deficit, the Titans fought back with a 4-0 run highlighted by three kills from Fonua to go up 14-12. A bump kill by Nadia Koanui followed by kills from Fonua and Martinez later gave the Titans a 21-18 advantage. Traylor sealed the set win for the Titans, 25-23, with a kill that just touched the back line.
S3 | Fonua takes advantage of the free ball ��#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/bizIJrvuQq
— Titans Volleyball (@Fullerton_WVB) September 28, 2022
The Titans came out quick in the fourth set with back-to-back aces from Fonua to go up 6-3. Kills from Martinez, Crawford and Jefferies then put the Titans up 11-6. Kills from Traylor and Jefferies extended the Titans' lead to seven, 19-12. Long Beach State fought back to within two, 22-20, but kills from Crawford and Fonua sealed the 25-22 set win and match for the Titans.
The Titans take down Long Beach State‼️‼️#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/RDAXEKVgzo
— Titans Volleyball (@Fullerton_WVB) September 28, 2022
The Titans remain at home to take on Hawaii on Friday, September 30th, in Titan Gym. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT.
WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home event exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Stadium. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.
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