BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—CSU Bakersfield rallied past Missouri-Kansas City 3-1 in Western Athletic Conference volleyball action Thursday night.

A back and forth opening set saw the Kangaroos rally from a 22-20 deficit to defeat the Roadrunners 25-23. CSUB held the 'Roos to .070 hitting in the second set before hitting .421 in the third to earn a 25-14 set victory. The Roadrunners clinched the match with a 25-22 victory in the fourth set.

“I thought we played well in the first set but a few points at the end slipped out of our hands and let them win the set,” said CSUB (11-14) director of volleyball Giovana Melo. “We played with a lot of passion and played together,” Melo said.

CSUB's Carol Grasso recorded a season best 25 kills and 11 digs for her league leading seventh double-double of the year. Grasso joins three other league players with seven double-doubles this season.

Roadrunner setter Luiza Martins tallied her sixth double-double of the year with 48 assists and 13 digs. Kelsee Sawyer added 20 kills, four digs, and three assists. Sophie Flemion had 19 digs.

UMKC (13-12, 6-7 WAC) was led by Skyler Muff who had 11 kills and five blocks. Kangaroo libero Taryn Miller posted a match high 25 digs. Kansas City setters Kaylyn Brandt and Nicole Wernhoff combined for 37 assists.

“Tonight was huge,” Melo said. “Coming off a bad weekend, the win gave us our confidence back and going forward into Saturday against Chicago State.”

At 9-4 in the WAC, the Roadrunners are tied for second with Utah Valley in the conference standings. Undefeated (13-0) NM State has already secured the WAC regular season championship and the No. 1 seed.

The second first round by for next week's WAC Tournament is still up for grabs between CSUB and the Wolverines. CSUB hosts eighth place Chicago State (1-25, 0-13 WAC) Saturday at 1 p.m. Utah Valley (14-12) hosts NM State (24-5) at 11 a.m. (MST) on Saturday.

Tickets are available for Saturday's match at Vallitix.com. The match can be seen on the WAC Digital Network.

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