SEATTLE, Wash.—CSU Bakersfield (4-11, 2-1 WAC) defeated Western Athletic Conference volleyball leader Seattle U (11-6, 3-1 WAC) 3-1 in league action Saturday afternoon. The victory was the eighth in a row in the series for the Roadrunners dating back to 2011.

“Today was the best game we have played all season,” said CSUB director of volleyball Giovana Melo.

The Roadrunners jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the first set before Seattle U took a timeout. CSUB continued to press, pushing the advantage to 13-6 before SU call timeout once again. The Redhawks flew to a 9-3 run that made it 17-15 before a CSUB timeout.  The Roadrunners came out of the timeout and scored the next four points to regain the momentum.  SU cut the lead to 22-19 before Carol Grasso put down a kill. A Seattle U hitting error gave CSUB five set points. The Redhawks staved one set point off before a Grasso kill down the line gave the Roadrunners a 25-20 victory.

CSU Bakersfield started strong again in the second set, taking an 8-4 lead out of the box.  CSUB increased the lead to 12-7 when the Redhawks called timeout. SU used the timeout effectively, mounting an 8-3 charge to tie the set at 15. At 16-16, the Roadrunners capped off a 6-3 spurt with a Kortney Freeland and Edithza Urias block. Seattle U called its final timeout and came away with two straight kills.

CSUB got up 23-21 on a Grasso kill, but SU responded with a Martina Samadan kill up the middle.  The Redhawks tied again with a Matea Mamic kill. CSUB called its final timeout, earning set point on a Grasso, but SU made it 24-24 after the Roadrunners recorded a service error.  A CSUB attack error gave SU a set point before Grasso's kill knotted the score at 25. Set point number two for CSUB came on a Grasso kill. The Roadrunners went up 2-0 in the match when Roadrunner setter Luiza Martins went on two for the 27-25 win.

The Roadrunners sped to a 7-4 lead to open the third set. SU recovered as the Redhawks used a 13-2 run to take a 17-9 lead.  Seattle U would score 18 of the final 26 points in the third set and earned a 25-15 victory.

The teams played to five ties to begin the fourth set. At 5-5, CSUB rattled off the next six of the next eight to earn a four-point advantage. Seattle U chopped the lead in half with the next two.  The Roadrunners regained serve and pushed the lead back to five, 14-9. Seattle U called timeout and with a 5-1 run, Seattle drew to within one, 15-14.

The Roadrunners responded with three straight as SU took timeout for the final time in the fourth set.  Seattle U earned the first point of the timeout before CSUB scored the final seven points of the match to win 25-15.

“Seattle is a very strong team,” Melo said. “It was a very big win for us!”

Grasso led all players with 16 kills. The 5-6 outside hitter added five digs. Kelsee Sawyer posted 12 kills, four digs, and three service aces. Washington native Sydney Haynes charted 10 kills and four blocks. Luiza Martins dished out 44 assists and had nine digs.

Samadan led the Redhawks with 14 kills and five digs.  Jelana Vujcin tallied 13 kills and nine digs. SU setter Kerry Lane put up 44 assists, eight digs and two blocks.

The Roadrunners will open the home portion of the 2015 slate Thursday night when CSUB hosts UTRGV at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at Vallitix.com. The match can also been seen on the WAC Digital Network.

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