BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--The CSU Bakersfield volleyball team opens the 2015 season this weekend at the University of San Francisco Invitational.
The tournament begins Friday when the Roadrunners take on Denver at 4 p.m. On Saturday, CSUB faces the host Dons at 12:30 p.m. before the meet wraps up at 4:30 when the Roadrunners face San Diego State. The CSU Bakersfield-San Francisco match will be available online at TheW.TV.
CSU Bakersfield is playing Denver for the first time at the Division I level. The Roadrunners defeated the Pioneers 3-1 during the 1993 season when both teams were Division II members. The Pioneers won the 2014 Summit League Championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament where Denver dropped a 3-0 decision to Colorado State. Denver finished 2014 with a 27-7 record.
The Pioneers were picked by the Summit League coaches to repeat as league champion in the preseason poll released Aug. 20. Denver returns two All-League players in Sarah Schmid and Nola Basey. Schmid led the conference in hitting percentage (.266). Basey led the squad in kills (417) in 2014.
The Roadrunners and the Dons are playing for the fourth time with San Francisco leading the all-time series 2-1. The teams haven't played since 2009 when the Dons defeated the 'Runners 3-1. The Dons were selected to finish tied for eighth in the West Coast Conference. The Dons, who were 12-17 last season, return 10 letterwinners from 2014 including four starters and their libero, Kim Gutierrez. Gutierrez was named to the WCC's All-Freshman squad after finishing second in the WCC in total digs and digs per set.
The Roadrunners and the Aztecs are playing for the fifth time. San Diego State leads the all-time series 4-0. The teams are playing for the first time since 2010 when San Diego State defeated CSUB 3-0.
San Diego State was picked to finish sixth in the Mountain West in the preseason Mountain West Conference poll. San Diego State returns three starters and its libero along with and four other letterwinners and a redshirt freshman from last year's squad that posted a 14-15 record (9-9 MW), finishing sixth in the final league standings.
The WAC coaches selected Missouri-Kansas City as the team to beat in 2015. The Kangaroos received four of the first-place votes and 45 total points to earn the top spot in the poll. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
NM State earned two first-place votes and 40 total points, followed by Seattle U with one first-place vote and 37 points in third place. CSU Bakersfield was picked to finish fourth with 33 points and the other first-place vote, followed by Utah Valley in fifth with 28 points. Grand Canyon in sixth with 20 points, while The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Chicago State round out the poll with 13 and eight points, respectively.
Utah Valley senior middle blocker Lauren Bakker was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year for the second year in a row. UMKC, NM State and Seattle U placed the most players on the preseason All-WAC team with three apiece, while CSU Bakersfield and Utah Valley had two each.
Joining Bakker on the team is teammate Macky Fifita, UMKC's Sydney Crimmins, Jessica Hendin and Taryn Miller, NM State's Nathalie Castellanos, Gwen Murphy and Bradley Nash, Seattle U's Matea Mamic, Martina Samadan and Jelena Vujcin, CSU Bakersfield's Luiza Martins and Kelsee Sawyer, and Grand Canyon's Natalie Tardy.
