Oct. 6, 2007
Santa Barbara, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton snapped its three game losing streak behind 52 combined kills by Brittany Moore and Jennifer Francisco, defeating UC Santa Barbara, 3-2 in a Big West Conference match at the Thunderdome Saturday night.
Fullerton evens its record back up at 8-8 and 3-2 in league action while Santa Barbara dips to 6-11, 1-4.
Moore's effort Saturday night yielded career-best numbers in kills (28) and digs (25), while adding five blocks to help guide the Titans to a 30-21, 27-30, 30-26, 30-25, 15-12 victory over the Gauchos. It was the juniors fourth double-double of the season, and also the fourth time this year she has collected 20 or more kills. She, Francisco and Erin Saddler all finished with double digits in kills.
Francisco also provided offensive spark, slamming home 24 kills of her own. It was the second time this week Francisco surpassed the 20-kill plateau, earning another double- double in the process with 11 digs.
Santa Barbara's Lauren McLaughlin posted 20 kills to lead a trio of Gauchos with 15-or-more kills.
The Titans aerial assault in game one was their most dominant effort on the night, as they out-hit the Gauchos .351 to .022 and led form the first to the last serve. Moore had six of her kills in game one alone, while Alex Wolnisty and Julie Geissert shared two blocks at the net.
Wolnisty led all players with eight blocks on the night as the Titans out-blocked the opponent 12.0-9.0. Moore, Saddler and Geissert combined for 13 block assists behind Wolnisty. Kacey Kipp and Brett Quirarte tallied four blocks apiece for the Gauchos, with three of Quirarte's coming as solo blocks.
Freshman libero Cami Croteau became just the fifth Fullerton player to ever record 30-or-more digs in a match, recording 31 on the evening. She paced ten players (five from each team) that recorded 10-or-more digs on the night in setting her new career-high.
The Titans finish the week and the road trip 1-2 and now come home to face red-hot UC Irvne and UC Riverside on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. at Titan Gym.
Notes: Brittany Moore ties teammate Jennifer Francisco with the most kills in a game (28) this season and the most since Megan Sabo's 35-kill night on Sept. 16, 2000...The Saturday night win against UC Santa Barbara was the second consecutive victory over the Gauchos. It was also just the second win ever against the Gauchos, whose 52-match, 25-year winning streak was snapped last season...Julie Geissert tied her career-high with 62 assists on Saturday night.