FULLERTON, Calif. – The Golden Eagles fell to Saint Mary's (0-3) and Cal State Fullerton (0-3) on the first day of the Titan Invitational in Fullerton, California. The Golden Eagles showed promise all day but high-scoring runs by the Gaels and Titans couldn't be conquered.
 
In the Golden Eagles opening match against Saint Mary's, Trinity Freeman led the Golden Eagles in kills, racking up 11 while also hitting .152%. Rachel Resta led ORU in assists, tallying 17 and Thaynara de Jesus led the team in digs, logging nine. The Golden Eagles and Gaels went back and forth early in the first set, leading to a score of 11-11. Saint Mary's caught fire mid-set sparking a 7-2 run which extended their lead to 6 (13-18). The Golden Eagles fought back late, going on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to one (23-24) but a bad set from the Golden Eagles gave the Gaels set one. In sets two and three, ORU opened each set down 3-15 and 3-14, respectively, both deficits too large to overcome.
 
ORU played their second match against Titan Invitational Host, Cal State Fullerton. Trinity Freeman led the team in kills with twelve while Anzley Rinard recorded nine, hitting .263% on the match. Thaynara de Jesus led the Golden Eagles in digs logging 10 while Rachel Resta led ORU in assists for a second straight match, racking up 28 of the Golden Eagles' 29 kills. The Golden Eagles faced deficits of 10, six and nine, putting the Titans out of reach in all three sets.
 
Match Notes

• Trinity Freeman recorded her 9th match of the season leading the team in kills. Freeman has led the team in kills in every match this season.
• Anzley Rinard hit .263% in the Golden Eagles match against Cal State Fullerton, her highest hit percentage of the season.
• At the net, Natassia Baptiste logged two solo blocks and three block assists while Trinity Freeman and and Kedron Burk recorded three and two block assists, respectively.
• Freshman Rachel Resta accounted for 28 of the Golden Eagles' 29 kills in their match against Cal State Fullerton. She was responsible for 45 of the teams 57 assists on the day.
• Thaynara de Jesus led the team in digs on the day with 19.
• Cortnee Smith recorded a service ace against Cal State Fullerton, the first point of her career as a Golden Eagle.

 
Up Next
ORU plays against Cal State Fullerton in their second straight match on Saturday, September 14th at 11:00 a.m CT.
 
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