SANTA MONICA, Calif.-The Bakersfield sand volleyball team (8-10) finished third in the inaugural Pac-12 Invitational Team Championship.

The Roadrunners opened the day by defeating Arizona State 4-1. The 'Runners won the matches at No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5. The ASU victory set up a match against No. 1 USC in round two.

The No. 1-ranked Women of Troy earned a 5-0 victory over Bakersfield. In the quarterfinals, CSUB defeated Cal Poly 4-1. Again, the Roadrunners won the dual by taking the matches at No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5. The Cal Poly win sent the 'Runners into the semifinals against No. 8 Loyola Marymount.

LMU defeated the 'Runners 3-2. Bakesfield won the matches at No. 2 and No. 3. The dual came down to the No. 4 slot where the Roadrunners lost in three sets. Loyola Marymount would fall 5-0 to USC in the finals.

"I am impressed with how much we have improved throughout the season," said Bakersfield head coach Olivia Simko. "We need to work on finishing when we have the opportunity. We are proving that we are able to compete with the best teams in our region." 

The pairs portion of the Pac-12 Invitational will be conducted Sunday.

~www.GoRunners.com~

Bakersfield 4, Arizona State 1
1. Araujo/O'Hagan (CSUB) def. Arellano/Jorgensen; 21-16, 22-20
2. Alvidrez/Guitare (CSUB) def. Follette/Gardner; 21-17, 22-20
3. Checkal/Willey (ASU) def. Bartsch/Bowen; 21-18, 21-11
4. Haynes/Youngblood (CSUB) def. Bailey/Pirotte; 21-10, 23-21
5. Little/Perrens (CSUB) def. Lowrance/Tuioti-Mariner; 27-25, 21-17
Order of finish: 3, 4, 2, 1*, 5

USC 5, Bakersfield 0
1. Burnham/Hughes (USC) def. Araujo/O'Hagan; 21-12, 21-13
2. Claes/Strange (USC) def. Alvidrez/Guitare; 21-12, 21-18
3. Hirschmann/Siljkovic (USC) def. Bartsch/Bowen; 21-10, 21-14
4. Ettinger/Russ (USC) def. Haynes/Youngblood; 21-17, 21-7
5. Martin/Wheeler (USC) def. Little/Perrens; 21-13, 21-14
Order of finish: 1, 4, 3*, 5, 2

Bakersfield 4, Cal Poly 1 (Quarterfinal)
1. Araujo/O'Hagan (CSUB) def. Conroy/Keddy; 21-19, 21-14
2. Alvidrez/Guitare (CSUB) def. Groess/Kessler; 21-10, 21-11
3. Schleis/Walters (CP) def. Bartsch/Bowen; 18-21, 22-20, 15-8
4. Haynes/Youngblood (CSUB) def. Fouts/Gruenewald; 21-8, 22-20
5. Little/Perrens (CSUB) def. Gorman/Reddick; 21-10, 21-16
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5*, 1, 3

Loyola Marymount 3, Bakersfield 2 (Semifinal)
1. Keil/Metter (LMU) def. Araujo/O'Hagan; 21-12, 21-18
2. Alvidrez/Guitare (CSUB) def. Bush/Luft; 21-19, 22-20
3. Bartsch/Bowen (CSUB) def. Akana/Suaava; 21-18, 21-19
4. DeWitt/Tedrow (LMU) def. Haynes/Youngblood; 22-24, 21-14, 15-11
5. Maxfeldt/Taylor (LMU) def. Little/Perrens (CSUB); 22-20, 21-10