Anteaters Topped by Titans
November 01, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. --- Shaina Olsen led all players with 16 kills but it was not enough as UC Irvine fell to Cal State Fullerton, 25-21, 15-25, 25-10, 28-26 Tuesday in a Big West Conference match at the Bren Center.
Aly Squires chipped in 15 kills and 24 digs, a career-high in scoops for the outside hitter, while Kristin Winkler led all players with 29 digs. Shannon Fleming tucked away nine kills while putting up a match-high five block assists as UCI out-blocked the Titans 9.5 – 6. Mary Carls totaled 29 assists and added 17 digs for her fourth double-double match of the year.
UCI took an early 10-6 lead as Alexandra Hauser, Squires and Taylor Smith put up the triple block on Leah Maurer, but the Titans reeled off six straight points to take a 12-10 lead. UCI carved out a 16-15 edge on two unforced errors by Fullerton but the Anteaters committed back-to-back errors in a three-point run by the Titans. Jennifer Edmond and Ayana Whitaker denied Pauline Acres at the net for set point and Andrea Ragan went to Whitaker to close out the frame.
The Anteaters jumped out to a 5-0 lead and would hold the Titans to a negative .023 hitting percentage. Fullerton trimmed the lead to one at 15-14 but the Anteaters responded by out-scoring CSF 6-0 to take a 21-14 advantage on an ace from Carls. At 21-15, Fleming tooled the ball off the block and Squires aced the Titans for the 23-15 lead. On the ensuring play, Fleming pounded the ball down the middle on the quick set and Squires tied the match with a deep shot that found the corner.
It was the Titans' turn to take a fast lead at 10-5 in the third frame. The Anteaters were unable to slow CSF's attack as the Titans hit .371 and would widen the gap to 14-5. UCI never threatened and Ragan would go to Kayla Neto, who ended the set with a back-row kill.
The Titans jumped ahead again with a 10-7 lead in the final set but they were unable to hold off the Anteaters. Fleming keyed a three-point run as the sophomore delivered a kill and then paired with Smith to block Jennifer Edmond at the net. Following a Fullerton timeout, a Neto attempt fell into the net, tying the score at 16 points apiece. The two sides traded points and the Titans were the first to reach match point at 24-22 following an ace from Ragan. However, Olsen blasted a cross-court shot and the triple block of Squires, Fleming and Taylor tied the score at 24-24 for UCI. The see-saw battled continued and 26-26, Edmond hit a ball off the Anteater block and Neto won the match for the Titans with a back-row shot.
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