Box Score OMAHA, Neb.--Pacific defeated CSU Bakersfield 3-0 to begin the Bluejay Invitational Friday afternoon at Sokal Arena.
“We had some great moments, but we are still very inconsistent,” said CSUB director of volleyball Giovana Melo.
A pair of runs (8-2 and 7-2) helped propel the Tigers (6-1) to a 25-12 opening set victory. CSUB jumped out to a 4-1 lead to begin the second set. Pacific responded with a 6-2 spurt to move into the lead. The Roadrunners fought back, tying the score four times. At 12-12, the Tigers put up four of the next five points to take the lead. CSUB again rallied, tying the score at 16 and forcing a Pacific timeout.
With the score tied for the ninth time in the second set (18-18), the Tigers received back-to-back kills from Lexi Elman to return to the lead. A CSUB hitting error gave Pacific a three-point advantage. The Tigers extended the lead to four on an Alicja Wilk kill. The run ended a 5-0 when Maycie Labass had a service error. A Wilk attack error cut the lead to 23-20. Kelsee Sawyer's service ace for CSUB reduced the advantage to two and resulted in a Pacific timeout.
Wilk and Whitson blocked a Roadrunner attack to give Pacific triple set point. A kill from Grasso and an Elman hitting error drew CSUB to within one. Katie Dunbar-Lowe and Sydney Haynes blocked Elman to tie it up at 24. Holland Crenshaw's kill provided Pacific with a fourth set point but the Roadrunners went to Grasso who put down a kill for a 25-25 match. Setter Luiza Martins went on two for a 26-25 CSUB lead. Elman tied it again with a kill. Grasso gave the Roadrunners a second set point at 27-26 with a kill. Alexandra Holt's kill tied the match for the 14th time. An unforced CSUB error led to Pacific's fifth set point which was converted by Holt for 29-27 set win.
Pacific opened the third set by getting the ball to Elman as much as possible. She responded with three kills and gave the Tigers a 7-4 lead. Three Dunbar-Lowe kills keyed a 5-1 spurt for the Roadrunners that gave the CSU Bakersfield a 9-8 advantage. The teams traded points before Martins again went on two for a kill and a 10-9 CSUB lead.
Pacific scored the next three times before a Sawyer kill returned the serve to the Roadrunners. At 12-11, the Tigers clawed their way to the next four points before a Sawyer kill and a Sawyer ace drew the match back to 16-13. Four consecutive CSUB errors extended the Pacific lead to 20-13. The squads split the next six points before a Sawyer kill created a 23-17 score. A Wilk kill was followed by another Sawyer kill. Wilk's fifth and final kill of the day on match point gave Pacific a 25-18 victory and the sweep.
Serving played a big part for the Tigers' victory. Pacific recorded 11 aces in the match while the Roadrunners committed nine service errors.
“We have to do a better job serving and passing!” Melo said. “When we do that we are a great team!”
Elman led all players with 14 kills for the Tigers. UOP setter Kimmy Whitson had 31 assists. Sawyer led the Roadrunners with nine kills. Grasso added eight kills, seven digs, and three blocks. Martins posted 22 kills and five digs.
The Bluejay Invitational continues Saturday with a pair of matches. Play begins at 12 p.m. (CDT) against Creighton before wrapping up at 5:30 p.m. (CDT) against Lipscomb.
CSU Bakersfield (1-7) will open the home portion of the 2015 slate on Oct. 8 when CSUB hosts UTRGV at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at Vallitix.com.
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