September 22, 2006
BOX SCORE
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The young Cal State Bakersfield volleyball team has been on the verge of a statement game for the past two weeks. Friday night, they made that statement, but 14th ranked Chico State held on for a thrilling 28-30, 30-25, 30-26, 21-30, 15-5 win at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield.
Bakersfield (2-5 overall, CCAA) starts four freshman and has no seniors on its nine-player roster this season. But the young Roadrunners showed tremendous poise against the highest-ranked opponent they had faced this season. Although more experienced overall, Chico (11-1, 6-1) relied on its young guns down the stretch.
Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Warner (Tehachapi HS), the CCAA kill leader entering the week, enjoyed the best match of her young career with personal records of 25 kills and 20 digs. Freshman libero Kayla Williamson (Stockdale HS) chipped in a career-high 28 digs.
Chico State freshman Gillian Heydorff led the Wildcats with 22 kills and 22 digs. Senior middle blocker Jamie Houle added 16 kills, including a team-high five in the decisive fifth game.
Bakersfield led throughout game one, expanding its lead to as much as 18-11 before the Wildcats made a game of it late. Chico used a pair of short runs midway through game two to level the match at one game apiece.
The Wildcats jumped out early in game three and appeared to take control of the match, although Bakersfield mirrored Chico's game one effort, using a late rally to make things interesting.
Although it fell short, the Roadrunner comeback in game three served as a platform from which they built perhaps their best effort of the season in game four. Bakersfield raced to a 12-6 lead then never let the Wildcats within six points to send the match to a fifth game.
Game five is where the Roadrunner coach turned into a pumpkin. The serve receive broke down early in the game and they simply could stop the bleeding as Chico pulled away.
Three kills by Heydorff and two by Houle helped the Wildcats sprint to a 6-0 lead. Chico led 12-2 before the Roadrunners finally regained their composure, but by that point, the damage had been done.
California State University, Bakersfield Athletic Department
9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311-1022
Phone: (661) 654-3071 ? FAX: (661) 654-2376
