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California State University, Fullerton

WVB 1st win over UCSD, first Conf. win since 2023
Photo Courtesy of Cristian Perez
3
Winner Cal St. Fullerton CSF 6-7,1-0 Big West
0
UC San Diego UCSD 2-11,0-1 Big West
Winner
Cal St. Fullerton CSF
6-7,1-0 Big West
3
Final
0
UC San Diego UCSD
2-11,0-1 Big West
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Cal St. Fullerton CSF 25 25 25 (3)
UC San Diego UCSD 21 23 23 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Volleyball Makes History With First Win Over UC San Diego

Lira Pukl Verdel leads with 11 kills as the Titans earn their first-ever win over UCSD and first conference victory since 2023

LA JOLLA, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton women's volleyball (6-7, 1-0) opened Big West play with a straight-set victory over UC San Diego (25-21, 25-23, 25-23) on Friday night at LionTree Arena. 

This win marked Fullerton's first-ever victory over the Tritons (2-11, 0-1) in program history, as well as their first conference win since a four-set win over CSUN on Nov. 18. 2023. 

The Titans outpaced UC San Diego in the opening set, hitting .500 as a team with 16 kills and two blocks. Fullerton jumped to an early 2-0 lead following a pair of long hits by the Tritons. Hannah Hass fueled the offense with three kills through the middle, helping the Titans to build a 12-7 lead. 



A 5-0 run by the Tritons closed the game, forcing the Titans to call a timeout while holding a slight 15-14 lead. UC San Diego tied the set at 17 and took an 18-17 lead on a service ace. Kaia Herweg's fifth kill retook a 20-18 lead for the Titans, while Lira Pukl Verdel and Zariah Crosby combined for a key block to close out the set, 25-21.  



Herweg, Pukl Verdel and Kahea Carvalho helped the Titans maintain control early in the second set, powering to a 15-12 lead capped by a dump kill from Carvalho. UC San Diego answered with five straight points to grab a 18-16 lead, but the Titans quickly responded. Ketesia Hall recorded a kill followed by a block from Hass for a slight 19-18 advantage. The set remained tight down the stretch, but Hass and Pukl Verdel combined at the net for a 20-19 lead. 



Crosby came up big once again in the second set, recording two late kills to secure a 25-23 win and 2-0 match lead. 



In the third set, Crosby and Hall each posted two kills to break a 10-10 tie and give the Titans a 13-10 advantage. UC San Diego rallied late, taking advantage of Titan ball-handling errors to tie the set at 22-22. 

Crosby responded with two more kills to push the Titans ahead, 24-22, and Herweg sealed the sweep with her 10th kill of the night. Fullerton finished the match with 46 kills on .308 hitting, along with seven total blocks.



The Titans return to action on Saturday at Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. 

SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitansTickets.com. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan Baseball ticketing office and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday. 

FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), X (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (@FullertonTitans), YouTube (FullertonTitansAthletics) and TikTok (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the softball team has established its own Instagram (@Fullerton_WVB) and X accounts (@Fullerton_WVB).

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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