Cal State Fullerton

FULLERTON, Calif. — The Cal State Fullerton women's volleyball team defeated CSUN in five sets (23-25, 16-25, 25-13, 25-21, 15-10) Friday night, completing a reverse sweep for its first win over the Matadors since Nov. 11, 2023. The Titans improved to 7-11 overall and 2-9 in Big West play and remained undefeated (4-0) in five-set matches this season. 

Sofia Shine led the Titans offensively with 16 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. The Titans tied a season-high with 13 blocks, led by Zariah Crosby (1 BS, 6 BA) and Neeva Gaine (7 BA). They also tied their season high with 61 assists, led by Sibley Oster's 34. As a team, Fullerton tallied 63 kills and a .268 hitting percentage, compared with CSUN's 60 kills and .199 hitting percentage. 

The teams battled through 10 ties and four lead changes in the opening set before CSUN took a 1-0 match lead with a 25-22 win. The Matadors controlled the second set, outhitting the Titans .324 to .152 to take a 2-0 match lead. 

Fullerton responded with a 25-13 win in the third set. Crosby led the Titans with four kills, one solo block and two block assists. Marisa Nakata and Bella Risling added three kills each to the team's 14 total kills in the set. Fullerton put together a 5-0 run, highlighted by a block from Crosby and Gaine, to take a 10-3 lead. Another five-point run, featuring three kills and a service ace from Kaia Herweg, extended Fullerton's lead to 18-10. The Titans sealed the set win on consecutive kills from Crosby and Gaine. 

The Titans evened the match at 2-2 with a 25-21 victory in the fourth. Shine powered the offense with four kills and a .571 hitting percentage. Gaine was unstoppable at the net, combining for four block assists. CSUN brought the set within two points at 22-20, prompting Fullerton to take a timeout. The Titans responded with two kills from Nakata to reach set point at 24-21. Crosby and Gaine combined at the net for a block to send the match to a fifth set. 

An early kill from Crosby gave the Titans a 3-2 lead in the deciding fifth set, while Nakata added back-to-back kills to pull to a 5-2 lead. CSUN used a 3-0 run to tie the set at 9-9, but the Titans answered with three kills, including two from Nakata, to take a 12-9 lead. Fullerton completed their second reverse sweep against a conference opponent with two kills from Nakata and Risling and a service ace from Italia Bernal to win the set 15-10. 

The Titans return to Titan Gym to host Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2:00 p.m. 

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