FULLERTON, Calif. — Lyla Traylor tallied a career-high 26 kills as Cal State Fullerton defeated UC Riverside in five sets Friday night at Titan Gym.
Traylor posted a .229 hitting percentage on the night, also adding a career-high 27 digs, three assists and a pair of blocks. Danielle Jefferies followed with 16 kills on a .371 clip, while Málie McClure had a career-high 11 kills to go with 13 digs and a pair of aces. Bianca Martinez also had 11 kills and a team-high five blocks for the Titans.
Elizabeth Schuster dished out 51 assists, 14 digs and four kills while Nadia Koanui had a team-high 18 digs and Dominique Velarde had 17.
The Titans fought from behind all night, dropping the first set before winning the second and falling in the third before winning the fourth and decisive fifth set. As a team, Fullerton had 93 digs to the Highlanders' 75 and 61 assists to UC Riverside's 57. The win improves the Titans' record to 13-14 overall and 7-12 in Big West play.
The Highlanders got out to a 6-4 advantage to start the match, but Fullerton tied things up at seven following a Jefferies kill. Back-to-back blocks by Martniez and Robinson later put the Titans up three, 14-11. But the Highlanders responded, scoring seven straight to take a 19-14 advantage. Three consecutive kills by Traylor brought the Titans within two, 21-19, but UC Riverside went on to take the set, 25-21.
The second set started back and forth, with a Martinez kill tying things up at 10 early. The Highlanders took a 17-13 lead later, but a 5-0 Titan run capped by a Schuster dump kill and Velarde ace put Fullerton up 18-17. Four straight points from UC Riverside put the Highlanders up 21-18, but the Titans used a 3-0 run to tie the set at 21. The Highlanders scored two of the next three to take a 23-22 lead, but a kill by Martinez and a pair from Traylor gave Fullerton the second set, 25-23.
S2 | The Titans take set two❕#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/DRIBsnbOFt
— Titans Volleyball (@Fullerton_WVB) November 26, 2022
UC Riverside jumped out to a 10-3 advantage to start set three, later extending its lead to eight, 14-6. But the Titans used a 9-1 run to tie things up at 15-all, highlighted by kills from Traylor, Jefferies and Martinez. The Highlanders then scored five straight to take a 20-15 lead. Fullerton fought back to cut its deficit, 20-17, with a Traylor kill and Schuster ace. But UC Riverside went on to take the set, 25-19, and go up 2-1 in the match.
In the fourth set, Fullerton took an 11-7 lead early following kills from Traylor and Martinez. The Titans maintained a four-point advantage, 16-12, with a McClure ace followed by back-to-back kills from McClure. Teams continued to trade points, as a kill by Jefferies and a pair by Traylor put the Titans up three, 22-19. UC Riverside then scored two straight to cut its deficit to one, 22-21, but a kill by McClure and two from Jefferies gave the Titans the set-four win, 25-22.
S4 | We're going to a set five❗️#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/XMpFwm3rwi
— Titans Volleyball (@Fullerton_WVB) November 26, 2022
Fullerton took a 5-2 lead early in the deciding fifth set following a pair of kills from Traylor and another from Martinez. The Titans extended their lead to four, 7-3, following a dump kill from Schuster and a Highlander error. Three straight points later gave Fullerton an 11-6 advantage. A Jefferies kill brought the Titans to match point, 14-10, but UC Riverside staved it off for three straight points. Traylor then finished things off with another kill as the Titans won set five, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.
S5 | @lyla_traylor puts the finishing touches on this one as the Titans win in five‼️#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/c40HeHsgzb
— Titans Volleyball (@Fullerton_WVB) November 26, 2022
The Titans remain at home for Senior Night tomorrow, November 26th, when they take on UC Davis. First serve is scheduled at 4:00 p.m. PT.
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