FULLERTON, Calif. — The Cal State Fullerton women's volleyball team snapped a 24-match losing streak against UC Santa Barbara with a reverse-sweep (24-26, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19, 15-13) victory Saturday, earning its first win over the Gauchos since Oct. 19, 2012.
The Titans improved to 3-0 in five-set matches this season while recording season highs in hitting percentage (.283) and service aces (10) in front of 220 fans. Overall, the Titans stand 6-13 and 1-5 in conference play.Â
Freshman standout
Sofia Shine tallied a career-high 20 kills with a .429 hitting percentage, the most kills by a Titan in a single match this season.Â
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The Titans fell to UC Santa Barbara in the opening set, 26-24. Fullerton recorded six team blocks compared with the Gauchos' two. Risling tied the set at 10-10 with a solo block before Fullerton used a 3-0 run to take a 15-12 lead, highlighted by a block assist from
Zariah Crosby and
Parys Taylor.Â
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The Titans maintained momentum on a four-point run featuring back-to-back service aces from
Italia Bernal and a kill from
Sofia Shine, but the Gauchos responded with the final two points to claim the set.Â
UC Santa Barbara controlled the second set, earning a 25-19 victory. The Gauchos recorded 20 kills and a .444 hitting percentage, while the Titans finished with 10 kills and a .286 hitting percentage.
Fullerton responded with a 25-19 win in the third set. Shine and
Kaia Herweg led the Titans offensively with five kills apiece. After the teams were tied at 10-10, the Titans built a three-point lead at 15-12 following a Gauchos service error. Shine secured the must-win set with her 15th kill of the match.Â
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The Titans forced a deciding set with a 25-19 win in the fourth set. Fullerton built a 12-8 advantage behind a three-point run featuring a service ace from Hass and kills from
Bella Risling and Herweg. Crosby recorded a kill down the middle and a solo block to push to a 17-9 lead. Crosby later extended Fullerton's lead to 23-18 with a kill before the Titans evened the match at 2-2.Â
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The Titans secured the reverse sweep in a 15-13 win after seeing seven ties and two lead changes. Shine tallied her last five kills, her 20th kill sealing the match win. Crosby and
Sibley Oster combined at the net to deny the Gauchos, cutting the deficit to 11-9.Â
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After trailing 13-10, Fullerton answered on a five-point run to seal their first conference win of the season. The 5-0 run featured two kills from Shine and a kill from Hass.Â
Fullerton returns to action next weekend against two new Big West opponents. The Titans travel to Sacramento State on Thursday, Oct. 15, for a 7:00 p.m. PT match, before closing the weekend at Utah Valley on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 12:00 p.m. PT.Â
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