DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Bakersfield volleyball team set the tone for 2013 defeating both Charlotte, 3-1, and Charleston Southern in straight sets at the Wildcat Classic in Davidson, N.C. Friday. Senior Debora Araujo (Sr., Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Western Nebraska CC) led all 'Runners with 30 kill while Molly O'Hagan (Jr., Tonganoxie, Kan., Tonganoxie HS) chipped in with 24 of her own. Fernanda Gonçalves (Sr., Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Western Nebraska CC) and Lisa Bartsch (Sr., Wuppertal, Germany, Augusta State) combined for a total of 101 assists.

It was the first time CSUB (2-0) won its season opener at the Division I level and also its first time starting the season 2-0 since the 2005 squad went 6-0 to open the season.

“Today was a great a start to our season,” said head coach Jolene Shepardson. “With everyone contributing in our well distributed offense, we are a hard team to defend. Our whole team had intensity on defense which helped us gain a lot of momentum.”

Match #1 – Bakersfield 3, Charlotte 1

Bakersfield started its 2013 season off with a nice win Friday over Charlotte 3-1 (25-17, 28-30, 25-15, 29-27) at the Davidson Wildcat Classic. The trio of Kelsee Sawyer (So., Temecula, Calif. Great Oaks HS), Araujo and O'Hagan led the offensive attack for the 'Runners. Gonçalves left off where she started last year notching 32 assists while Bartsch chipped in with 20 of her own.

Local standout Mariah Alvidrez (R-Jr., Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty HS) tied the CSUB Division I record for most digs in a game with 28.

Danika Youngblood (Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah, Western Nebraska CC) also had a solid outing in her debut as a Roadrunner hitting with .429 clip as she joined her fellow teammates from Western Nebraska CC on the floor.

CSUB opened the match with a 4-0 run capped my Araujo's kill and held on to win the first set 25-17. The 'Runners had a balanced attack in the first set with eight separate players recording at least one kill. The Roadrunners also held Charlotte (0-2) to a meager .143 hitting average in that set.

CSUB dropped a thrilling second set to UNCC 30-28 as both teams grinded it out exchanging points the entire set. The Roadrunners held game point on four occasions down the stretch but wasn't able to seal the deal as the 49ers rattled off three-straight points to take the set.

Much like the first set, Bakersfield held a commanding lead throughout the set thanks in part to a 6-0 run capped off by an attack error by Charlotte. The 49ers just weren't able to get in rhythm only scoring one or two points in a row which led to CSUB 25-15 set win.

The Roadrunners trailed most of the fourth set to UNCC and at one point was behind by six points, 18-12. Bakersfield however clawed back with four-straight points to make it 20-18 Charlotte. CSUB slowly gain momentum and capped off a 3-0 run behind Yuan Fu's (Sr., Beijing, China, Missouri-State West Plains) strike for match point at 24-23. Both teams then exchanged several points until O'Hagan slammed in two of her 18 kills to seal the 29-27 win and victor for the 'Runners.

“We responded well to the good offensive and serving pressure from Charlotte,” said Shepardson.

Match #2 – Bakersfield 3, Charleston Southern 0

Bakersfield defeated Charleston Southern (0-1) in straight sets (25-13, 25-15, 25-16) to wrap up day one of the classic undefeated. Araujo had a game-high 14 kills while Bartsch served up 19 assists.

After a slow start to the match, the Roadrunners went on a 5-0 capped off by Bartsch's service ace to take the 8-4 lead and never looked back. CSUB used a pair of 4-0 runs to break open the first set and rattled off four-straight points to finish the first set 25-13.

The 'Runners kept their momentum going in the second set as Bakersfield used a 5-0 run to separate itself from CSU. The Roadrunners never relinquished their lead after an 8-3 run was capped off by Araujo for her eighth kill of the match. Youngblood finished it off with a kill from the outside from Bartsch.

The Buccaneers didn't go down without a fight as they went toe-to-toe with CSUB to stay within one at 12-11. The 'Runners didn't back down and finished the match on a 12-5 run as Gonçalves picked up her 48^th assist on an O'Hagan rocket to complete the three-game sweep 25-16.

Bakersfield returns to action Sat., Aug. 31, at 10 a.m. (PDT) against the host, Davidson, to conclude the Wildcat Classic.

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