BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Sunday afternoon's lopsided win over Seattle University may have been the worst thing that could have happened to the CSUB volleyball team heading into Monday's rematch in the Icardo Center. The Roadrunners came out flat, Seattle came out inspired, and the result was a 26-28, 25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 15-9 Seattle upset.

Seattle (7-19 overall) entered the match hitting just .121 for the season. But the Redhawks bettered that number by more than 160 points, finishing Monday's match at .286.

CSUB (12-14), meanwhile, struggled to find its footing all night. Three Roadrunners hit better than .300, and three recorded double-figure kills, but as a team, they had trouble siding out, reaching 60 percent just once, and that at 61 percent in the first set.

"I told the team before the match that Seattle would play better," said CSUB Head Coach John Price. "I said I thought they would handle our serve better and make fewer errors and they did both of those things. In order for us to be successful, we need to play with a sense of urgency and we didn't do that tonight."

Things began ominously for CSUB when it had trouble shaking Seattle in the first set. The Roadrunners eventually served for the set at 24-20, but Seattle saved six set points before finally succumbing 28-26.

CSUB showed no such heroics in the second set as Seattle used a 9-1 run to turn an 8-6 deficit into a 15-9 leads that wouldn't be seriously challenged in a 25-19 win. In the third set, the Roadrunners let leads of 14-9 and 15-11 slip away as the Redhawks pulled away late for another 25-19 win.

CSUB jumped out to a 6-1 start in the fourth set and never trailed despite a late Seattle surge as the Roadrunners' 25-20 victory forced a decisive fifth set. The see-saw affair eventually broke Seattle's way when Kelly Biette and Jamie Mellies combined for a block that broke a 7-7 deadlock. The Redhawks went on to score eight of the final 10 points to seal the win.

Lindy DeGeare (Stockdale HS) led three 'Runners in double figures with 19 kills. Lindsay Toone (Liberty HS) added 15 kills and a .316 attack percentage.

One Roadrunner who will be sorry to see Seattle leave town is Alysia Baker (Vista/Tri-City Christian), who had 12 more kills Monday. She finished the two-match series against the Redhawks with 24 kills, five aces and an incredible .564 attack percentage.
Seattle got a match-high 22 kills from Cristin Richards and 17 from Kaytlyn Dill, who added 20 digs for a double-double.

CSUB returns to action Saturday when it travels to Riverside for the rubber match against UCR. The 'Runners defeated the Highlanders at the Sacramento State Tournament in September before UCR came back to win in five at the Icardo Center in October.

CSUB returns home to host Central Valley rival Fresno State Nov. 17.