RADFORD, Va. – The Bakersfield volleyball team dropped its second-consecutive five-set match falling to Radford 3-sets-to-2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 11-16) at the Dedmon Center Wednesday evening in Radford, Va. The 'Runners weren't able to get past the Highlanders (3-1) front line as RU racked up a 22-8 advantage in the block assist category.

Debora Araujo (Sr., Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Western Nebraska CC) recorded her third double-double (16 kills and 13 digs) of the year while Molly O'Hagan (Jr., Tonganoxie, Kan., Tonganoxie HS) slammed down 15 kills and Kelsee Sawyer (So., Temecula, Calif., Great Oaks HS) chipped in with 11 kills. Mariah Alvidrez (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Liberty HS) finished with 24 digs while Fernanda Gonçalves (Sr., Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Western Nebraska CC) served up 58 assists.

The first set saw little action as neither team took any significant lead with the highest lead being three. With the score 22-20 in favor of Bakersfield (2-2), the 'Runners were able to put together a 3-1 run to close out the first set 25-21.

With the second frame tied at seven all, the Highlanders went on a 9-2 run to take a 16-9 lead. CSUB however was able to put together a 9-2 run and knotted thins up at 18 after Araujo's serve went long. The rest of the set went down to the wire with both teams exchanging points but Radford edged out the Roadrunners with its 11th block of the match to take the second set 25-23.

RU jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the third set before CSUB called a timeout to disrupt the Highlander's rhythm. The Roadrunners were able to cut the lead down to 11-8 Radford thanks to errors committed by RU but it wasn't before long that the Highlanders pushed the lead back to five, 15-10.  With Radford up 21-15, the 'Runners went on a 4-0 run to get within two, 21-19. RU however shut the door on the Roadrunners with a 4-1 run to close out the third set 25-21on Cheyanne James' block at the net.

Bakersfield picked up some rhythm in the fourth set going on a 6-1 run capped off by blocks from Julia Bowen (Sr., Ottawa, Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier Univ.) and Gonçalves for the 10-5 lead. The Highlanders responded with a 4-1 run of their own but CSUB pushed the lead back to 17-10. O'Hagan then put the 'Runners in control, 20-12, with her 11th kill of the match forcing RU to call time. The Highlanders fought back to make it 24-19 but Yuan Fu (Sr., Beijing, China, Missouri State-West Plains) slammed down her fourth kill of the night to force a fifth set.

Heading into its second five-set match of the year, the Roadrunners pulled out to a 6-3 lead thanks to Araujo's 16th kill. The Highlanders clawed back to take a 12-11 lead on James' 14th kill in the final set before Jolene Shepardson called a timeout to regroup the Roadrunners. The timeout however wasn't enough as RU closed out the match with a 4-0 run to defeat Bakersfield 16-11.

"Tonight was another tough loss because we are doing a good job of outscoring our opponent, but we have to get our errors under control so we can have success," Shepardson said. "Our team fought hard together and for each other and for that I'm very proud of them."

The Roadrunners return to action Friday, Sept. 6, at the James Madison Classic against Presbyterian College at 2 p.m. (PDT).