Cal State Fullerton

SPOKANE, Wash. – The Cal State Fullerton women's volleyball team defeated Eastern Washington University in five sets (25-19, 25-15, 27-29, 21-25, 15-11) on Friday at the Gonzaga Invitational. The Titans handed the Eagles (4-1) their first loss of the season, improving to 2-3 overall and 1-1 at the tournament. 

Fullerton battled through eight ties and five lead changes to take the first two sets against the Eagles. Marisa Nakata recorded her first double-double of the season with 22 kills and 15 digs. Setter Italia Bernal tallied 50 assists, five kills and three block assists. As a team, Fullerton set new season-bests with 66 kills, 61 assists, 74 digs, 10 block assists, four solo blocks, and nine total blocks. 

The Titans opened the match with a 25-19 win to take an early 1-0 lead. Nakata led the offense with nine kills on .471 hitting. Early kills by Sofia Shine, Bella Risling, and Nakata helped the Titans even the score at 4-4. After trailing 15-11 at the media timeout, the Titans answered with a 9-1 scoring run to take a 20-16 advantage. The run featured kills from Bernal, Kaia Herweg, and Nakata, along with a service ace by Kaieva Christensen. Nakata secured the first set victory with a kill down the line. 

Fullerton beat Eastern University in the second set, 25-15. A solo block by Emilia Graham and two service aces built a 9-6 lead for the Titans. Graham combined with Shine at the net before Risling put away consecutive kills to give the Titans a 13-8 advantage. Nakata recorded a kill, Bernal earned a service ace, and Graham recorded a solo block to win the set 25-15 for a 2-0 match lead. 

Eastern Washington answered with a 29-27 win in the third set after battling through 16 ties and four lead changes. Fullerton's offense saw a dip in production, hitting .170 in the set compared with its .293 and .231 hitting percentages in the first two sets. Nakata led the Titans with seven kills on .312 hitting, but 12 team errors allowed Eastern Washington the ability to extend the match. 

The Eagles forced a fifth set after taking the fourth set in a 25-21 win. Fullerton opened the set on a 6-0 scoring run, highlighted by two kills from Risling and a solo block by Hannah Hass. Eastern Washington found momentum, leading 18-16 and pressuring the Titans to take a timeout. Graham and Risling each found two kills to cut the deficit to 23-21, but consecutive attack errors by the Titans closed the set and evened the match at 2-2. 

Fullerton maintained the lead throughout the deciding set, despite battling through three ties. Kills from Bernal and Risling earned the Titans an 8-6 lead. Shine added a kill to extend the lead to 12-9 before a block assist by Bernal and Hass earned the Titans a match point. Bernal connected with Hass for the match-winning kill, defeating the Eagles 15-11 in the fifth set.

The Titans conclude the weekend against Oral Roberts on Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Gonzaga Invitational. First serve is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. 

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