BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—Bakersfield advanced to its first NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament by sweeping Seattle U in the finals of the Western Athletic Tournament Saturday night in the Icardo Center.

Kelsee Sawyer (Jr., Temecula, Calif., Great Oak HS) reached the 1,000 career kill plateau when her third kill of the opening set made it 9-7. With CSUB leading 21-16, Seattle U scored six of the next seven to close within two, 22-20. A Molly O'Hagan (Sr., Tonganoxie, Kan., Tonganoxie HS) followed by a SU hitting error pushed the advantage to four. Seattle scored the next two points. With Bakersfield leading 24-22, a Stephanie Kroll service error gave the Roadrunners the set, 25-22.

CSUB took an 11-6 lead to begin the second set. Bakersfield would hold leads between three and five for most of the set. Seattle battled, cutting the advantage to 22-20 when Kerry Lane posted a service ace. The Roadrunners went to O'Hagan who responded with a kill. On the ensuing possession, Stephanie Stoll's kill made it 23-21. Sawyer's kill set up set point which came on an Eryn Riley (Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Los Osos HS) service ace for a 25-21 victory.

Leading 13-11 in the third set, Bakersfield rattled off six of the next eight points to extend its lead to seven.  Seattle U worked its way back in, cutting the lead to 20-16 to force a CSUB timeout.  The Roadrunners regrouped, scoring five of the next six points for a 25-17 victory.

O'Hagan, the tournament MVP, had 11 kills. She also added five digs and four blocks. Danika Youngblood (Sr., Salt Lake City, Western Nebraska CC) led all players with 15 kills. The 5-7 outside hitter hit. 433 (15-2-30). Sawyer enters postseason with 1,011 kills after charting 14. Sawyer hit .407 on the night (14-3-27). Luiza Martins (Sr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Western Nebraska CC) dished out 43 assists. Sawyer and Martins were both named to the All-Tournament team.

The Redhawks were led by Martina Samadan who hit .500 and had 14 kills (14-1-26). Samadan was also named to the All-Tournament team as was Matea Mamic. Mamic tallied 11 kills in the championship match. Rounding out the All-Tournament team was Lauren Bakker of Utah Valley.

The full 64-team NCAA Division I field will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 30. The selections will be televised on ESPN U beginning at 5:30 p.m. (PST).

~www.GoRunners.com~