Titans Pick Up Second Conference Victory Nov.
1 , 2003 – Riverside,
Calif.
Box Score
Melanie Meister had a career-high 17 kills and a match-high .577 hitting
percentage as Cal State Fullerton pulled out a 23-30, 30-24, 26-30, 30-28,
15-10 win over the host UC Riverside Highlanders in a Big West volleyball
match at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside Saturday.
It marked the second time this season that the teams have gone five and
the second time that the Titans were victorious. With the win, the Titans
moved to 8-16 overall and 2-10 in the Big West. UCR is now 8-15, 3-9.
Alyssa Opeka had 16 kills and hit .371 for Fullerton. As a team, the Titans
hit .203 (60-23-182) and the Highlanders .214 (83-35-224). The Titans
also outdug the Highlanders 89-87 and won the blocking battle, 13-6.
In the first game, UCR jumped out to an 11-2 lead, but Fullerton came
back to cut the lead to 20-19. The Highlanders rallied to pull out the
30-23 win, taking the game on a tip by Parizek. The Highlanders hit .450
in the game (22-4-40), compared to .121 (1-6-33) for the Titans.
The second game was a totally different story as the Titans came out strong
and jumped out to leads of 10-4 and 18-8. UCR clawed back to 28-17, and
outscored the Titans 7-2 in the final moments but could not complete the
comeback as the Titans prevailed 30-24. The Titans hit .231 (16-7-39)
compared to the Highlanders' .171 (14-7-41).
The Highlanders took an early lead in game three, but the Titans came
back to tie it at 19-19. UCR regained the momentum out of a timeout, scoring
a pair of points to take a 21-19 lead, then built the lead to four at
26-22. The teams traded points the rest of the way, with DeKiewiet capping
the win with a kill off the block for a 30-26 lead. Neither team hit well
in the game, the Titans leading .044 (9-7-45) compared to the Highlanders'
.035 (15-13-57).
The Highlanders couldn't finish the match in game four, struggling with
their defense against the Titan attack. Fullerton held a 22-18 lead. UCR
got back to 25-24, but Parizek's serve went into the net to make it 26-24.
The teams traded points to 29-28 when Meister hammered home the kill to
send the match to a fifth game. UCR hit .274 (24-7-62) to the Titans .277
(16-3-47).
In game five the Titans were up 6-3, but the Highlanders rallied back
to take the lead at the switch, 8-7. The Titans regained the momentum,
scoring three straight points, including an ace by April Bliss, forcing
the Highlanders to call a timeout. But the bleeding wouldn't stop at the
Titans took the next two points for a commanding 12-8 lead and another
UCR timeout. The Highlanders warmed up to take the next two points to
make it 12-10, forcing the Titans to call a time out. Carley Dial and
Sarah Morrison blocked Parizek's kill attempt to take a 13-10 lead, and
Bueno committed back-to-back hitting errors to finish the match and give
the Titans a 15-10 win.
