CHICAGO—Kelsee Sawyer hit a school record .722 to lead CSU Bakersfield as the Roadrunners defeated Chicago State in straight sets Thursday night in Western Athletic Conference volleyball play.

Sawyer led all players in the match with 15 kills. She committed only two errors in 18 attempts to break the seven-year old Division I school mark for highest hitting percentage in a three-set match which was set by Sarah Warner (7-0-10, .700) against Providence on Nov. 22, 2008.

“Kelsee has been doing a great job this year,” said CSUB director of volleyball Giovana Melo. “She is really taking care of business. It's her senior year and she has been working really hard to get better as a person and as a player! I am very happy and proud of her!”

The Roadrunners trailed 19-17 before outscoring the Cougars 8-3 to earn a 25-22 first set victory.  Edithza Urias and Sawyer both posted eight kills and hit over .500 in the opening frame.

The 'Runners raced to a 7-1 start in the second set and never looked back as CSUB defeated Chicago State 25-12 to take a 2-0 lead into intermission. The Roadrunners jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third set and would defeat the Cougars 25-18 to sweep the match.

Urias tallied 14 kills as she hit .391 for the match (14-5-23). Luiza Martins posted 38 assists and seven digs. Carol Grasso led the Roadrunners with 12 digs. The 5-6 outside hitter also added nine kills.

Elli Woinowsky recorded a team high nine kills for Chicago State.  She also added four blocks. Chicago State setter Corey Davis had 23 assists. The Roadrunners outhit the Cougars .292 to .062.

“We did a better job serving and passing today,” Melo said. “We are doing some great things. We just have to keep getting better.”

CSUB heads to Missouri-Kansas City Saturday. First serve is set for 2 p.m. (CDT) and can be seen on the WAC Digital Network. CSU Bakersfield returns home Oct. 24 when the Roadrunners host Grand Canyon at 12 p.m. Tickets are available at Vallitix.com. The match can also been seen on the WAC Digital Network.

~www.GoRunners.com~