The match consisted of hard and soft blocks from the 49er defense that the Titans were unable to overcome. Ahead and in control of the tempo for the the majority of the match, the Titans lost the first set 18-25, almost won the second 24-26, and embarrassingly lost the third 8-25.

The 49ers, now 11-2 in the Big West Conference, 17-6 overall, clinched the conference title with at least a tie as their defense at the net seems impenetrable. Ranked fourth in the nation for blocking, the 49ers had a total of 11 team blocks for the match. In addition, they hit .296 for the night, in stark contrast to the Titans’ .063 percentage.

The 49ers also have defeated CSUF in women’s volleyball for the 59th consecutive time since 1982.

With the advantage at the net by the tenacious 49er defense, the Titans were unable to set up an effective offense. The Titans combined managed to get 28 kills, only three in the last set, whereas Long Beach landed 48. Virtually every hit in the first and third sets were slowed or shut down by middle blocker Alma Serna, who stuffed the ball eight times, and outside hitters Caitlin Ledoux, Bre Mackie and middle blocker Haleigh Hampton who combined for another nine for the match.

In the first set, the Titans held an early lead as they came out with energy and greeted a large and loud CSUF audience of 682 total in attendance. Their serve-receive game had early success as setter Andrea Ragan was enabled to rack up 10 assists, allowing the Titans to gain 12 kills. But the 49ers held their poise and put up their famous block, stopping the Titans with five team blocks for the set. The 49ers put the Titans away with 17 total kills and allowed only 18 points.

The second set seemed hopeful for the Titans as outside hitter Kayla Neto found a way around, over and sometimes through the huge block of CSULB. She had seven kills for the set, more than half of the Titans’ overall 13. It looked like the Titans were going to take the set late, but the 49ers’ resilience proved too much. A few controversial calls by the referees also seemed to contribute to the Titans’ loss.

“A couple of missed calls that were generic … nothing was going our way,” said Titan Head Coach Carolyn Zimmerman when asked to comment on the set-two loss.

With two service errors for the Titans and the 49ers down four points, the Titans had a chance to catch up. CSULB ended the set with a kill from the middle and the Titans, demoralized, switched sides for the third set in hopes of extending the match.

Still down with the bruising 26-24 loss in the second set, the Titans seemed out of gas in the last and deciding set of the night. The 49ers pounded away at the ball, coming up with 16 kills against the Titans’ triple. At 23-8, the 49ers gained an ace, making a statement to the Titan onlookers that the night was finally over.

“We’re still trying to win as many matches as possible. What our place is in conference isn’t totally under our control … We’re not really caught up with all the losses we have, we’re just trying to add to the win column,” Zimmerman said.

Despite the disappointing loss, former Big West Conference Player of the Year and Titan All-American Erin Saddler was honored with her No. 23 jersey hung from the Titan Gym rafters. As an outside hitter and middle blocker, she led the Titans in 2010 to their first Big West Conference title. Her jersey shares the skyline with other Titan greats like Brittany Moore and Bruce Bowen.

The Titans finish their season with only four matches left, two against UC Davis and Pacific this week and return to Fullerton Nov. 18 to host the UC Irvine Anteaters and nationally ranked University of Hawaii (No. Nov. 25.