BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? The UC Davis volleyball team picked up a victory 16 years in the making Sunday, using steady attacking and a strong block to upend CSUB for the first time since 1991, 30?25, 28?30, 30?23, 30?27 Sunday afternoon at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield.
Junior outside hitter Renee Ibewke became the first opponent to out?kill CSUB junior Sarah Norman this season, hitting .474 with a match?high 23 kills. Norman led the Roadrunners for the seventh time in seven matches with 22 kills.
While the story on the Aggie side of the net was their first victory over CSUB in 20 tries, the 'Runners were working on a streak of a different kind. CSUB was playing its fourth match in four days ? including a five?game marathon against highly?regarded Saint Mary's less than 24 hours earlier. ? and the effects showed as Davis was clearly crisper throughout Sunday's match.
Game one was tight until three Ibewke kills helped turn a 23?23 tie into a 30?25 Davis victory.
Norman collected 10 kills in game two alone, and the 'Runners needed every one of them to hold on for a 30?28 win that summed up the match. CSUB appeared to right the ship after game one, jumping to leads of 7?0 and 26?15 in the second game. But Davis scrapped back to within 29?28 before Jodi Hardin tooled a block to tie the match at a game apiece.
CSUB scored the first two points of game three, but Davis quickly turned that into a 10?4 advantage. The 'Runners came back to make it interesting through the middle portion of the game, pulling to within one at 16?15, but they never got over the hump.
Davis jumped out to a 10?4 lead again the game four. This time, a CSUB rally allowed the 'Runners to grab the lead, the last time at 18?17. But service errors at 18?18, 22?22 and 27?27 allowed the Aggies to ease ahead for the win.
One positive service note for the 'Runners came from senior Erica Baldwin who collected two aces Sunday. She now has 188 for her career, putting her just five behind Erikka Gulbranson's CSUB record of 193.
CSUB hits the road for its next nine matches, beginning Wednesday at the University of Houston. The 'Runners will stay in Texas to play No. 6 Texas and No. 28 Pepperdine at the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational Friday and Saturday in Austin.
