OMAHA, Neb.—The CSU Bakersfield volleyball team completed play at the Bluejay Invitational Saturday at Creighton University. The Roadrunners split a pair of matches on the day.

Match 1—Creighton 3, CSUB 1

The host Bluejays defeated the Roadrunners 25-9 in the opening set. Creighton hit .376 compared to -.091 for CSU Bakersfield. The Roadrunners were much more competitive in the second set, trailing the Bluejays by two for much of the frame. With Creighton leading 15-12, the 'Jays scored five of the next seven to extend the lead to 20-14.  The Roadrunners called timeout and whittled the lead down to 22-18, but a Roadrunner service error led to three consecutive Creighton points and a 25-18 set victory.

With the score tied at seven to begin the third set, CSUB used a 3-0 spurt to take the lead. With the Roadrunners up 11-8, Creighton tallied four of the next points to cut the CSUB advantage to one.  The Roadrunners steadied themselves, pushing the lead to 17-13 when the 'Runner front line forced a pair of Creighton hitting errors and a Bluejays' timeout.

Creighton scored out of the timeout but CSUB charted the next three points for a 20-14 lead. The teams exchanged points before a Bluejays' hitting error put the Roadrunners up 22-15. Kelsee Sawyer followed with a kill that was followed by a Jess Bird kill for Creighton.  'Runners setter Luiza Martins scored on two to give CSUB eight set points. The Bluejays staved off one set point before a Sawyer kill sent the match to a fourth set 25-17. The Roadrunner defense limited the Bluejays to .185 hitting in the third set.

The defense for both teams was on display early in the fourth set as the teams combined for four blocks. CSUB would tie the match at five on an Edithza Urias ace. The set would also be tied at six, seven, and eight before the Bluejays scored three consecutive points resulting in a Roadrunner timeout.

Creighton scored three straight out of the timeout for a 6-0 run and a second CSUB timeout. The Bluejays scoring span would end up being 7-1 as Creighton advanced the lead to nine, 21-12. The Roadrunners scored three in a row that resulted in a Bluejays' timeout.  Kills from Jaali Winters and Lauren Smith made it 23-15. A pair of CSUB hitting errors gave Creighton a 25-15 set win that clinched the match.

Winters recorded a match high 18 kills and a .424 hitting percentage for Creighton. Bird posted 13 kills while Marysa Wilkinson added 11 kills. Wilkinson hit .474 for the match (11-2-19). CU setter Kenzie Crawford registered a double-double of 47 assists and 10 digs.

Sawyer led CSUB with 17 kills. The 5-10 outside hitter hit .316 for the match (17-5-38). Urias tallied 10 kills. Martins put up a double-double of 47 assists and 11 digs.

Match 2—CSUB 3, Lipscomb 2

CSU Bakersfield earned a split on the day by defeating Lipscomb 3-2 in Saturday's finale. Lipscomb entered the week receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25.

The Roadrunners began the opening set by scoring the first five points. The Bisons responded by recording a 12-2 charge that gave LU the lead. After trailing by as much as nine, CSUB drew within three at 21-18 and again at 22-19. A Bisons' ball handling error made it 22-20. A Roadrunner service error and a CSUB hitting error gave Lipscomb four set points. A Chole Rogers kill gave the Bisons a 25-20 victory.

The Roadrunners got off to another strong start in the second set as CSUB took a 5-1 early lead and extended the advantage to 10-5.  The closest Lipscomb would get would be four as the Roadrunners evened the match with a 25-19 win. CSUB was .486 from the field in the second set, committing only three hitting errors (20-3-35).

The third set featured a pair of 4-0 runs for each team. The set would be tied nine times. At 21-21, CSUB committed a service error to give Lipscomb the lead. Brittany Estes pushed the lead to 23-21 with a kill. The Roadrunners called timeout and went to Sawyer who went for her 14th kill of the match. An attack error from CSUB provided set point to the Bisons.  

Sydney Haynes kept the 'Runners alive with a kill. Lipscomb called timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Haynes and Paige Gettman blocked Rogers on an attack attempt to tie it at 24. Urias provided CSUB with its first set point with a kill. Setter Kayla Ostrom tied the match for LU with a kill on two. Gettman's kill gave CSUB its second set point but again Ostrom tied it with a kill.  Haynes teamed with Katie Dunbar-Lowe on a block of a Caryle Nusbaum attempt. On CSUB's third set point, Urias gave the Roadrunners a 2-1 match lead when her kill went down for a 28-26 set triumph.

The Bisons controlled most of the fourth set. Lipscomb pushed their lead to 18-6 before the Roadrunners responded with five straight points. CSUB kept chipping away, working the lead down to 21-14 after Haynes and Dunbar-Lowe earned a block. LU would close out the set quickly, earning four of the next seven points to record a 25-17 win and send the match to a fifth set.

Carol Grasso opened the fifth set with an ace for the Roadrunners. Sawyer followed with a pair of kills to deliver a 3-0 lead to the Roadrunners.  Estes got the Bisons on the board with a kill that was followed by a Dunbar-Lowe kill. Martins, the CSUB setter, went on two to earn a Roadrunner point.

Molly Spitznagle's kill and an attack error from the Roadrunners cut the CSUB lead in half. The Roadrunner defense forced an Estes attack error, returning serve to CSUB. A bad set from Kayla Ostrom again gave CSUB a four-point advantage. Jewell Dobson and Sawyer traded kills to give CSUB the serve at 8-4.

Dobson's 13th kill of the match put the Bisons on serve. Gettman and Haynes teamed again for a block which resulted in a 9-5 Roadrunner lead. Nusbaum earned a kill before being credited with an attack error. At 10-6, Spitznagle and Ostrom blocked Urias at the net before a CSUB hitting error created a 10-8 score.

After Roadrunner timeout, Ostrom's service ace made it a one-point set. CSUB again called Urias' number and she came away with a kill. A bad set from Ostrom resulted in a 12-9 score and a Lipscomb timeout.  The Bisons returned to the floor with a Nusbaum kill to regain the serve. Spitznagle and Estes blocked Sawyer on back-to-back hitting attempts to tie the score at 12.

Rogers and Spitznagle combined for a block on the ensuing CSUB hitting attempt for the first LU lead of the fifth set.  Spitznagle's hitting error tied the match again, this time at 13-13. Spitznagle atoned for the mistake with a kill that led to Lipscomb's first match point. Sawyer tied the match with a kill. The CSUB defense forced a Rogers attack error and gave the Roadrunners their first match point at 15-14. Gettman put down a Lipscomb overpass to secure the set 16-14 and earn the Roadrunners a 3-2 match victory.

Sawyer charted a match high 20 kills. Urias had 16 kills while Haynes hit .343 on the way to 14 kills. Martins tallied her second straight double-double of 52 assists and 12 digs. Jocelyn Rodriguez posted a team high 21 digs.

Rogers led four Bisons (5-4) in double-digit kills with 16. Nusbaum had a double-double of 15 kills and 14 digs. Ostrom dished out a match high 60 assists. Brittany Thomas recorded a match 23 digs for Lipscomb.

“We didn't give up today!” Melo said. “We kept fighting! I am very proud of my team.”

Sawyer was named to the All-Tournament team. She hit .246 on the weekend, recording 46 kills, 11 digs, and three blocks.

The Roadrunners travel to Hawai'i for a pair of matches next weekend. The series begins on Friday with a 7 p.m. (HST) start. Competition concludes Sunday with a 5 p.m. (HST) match.

CSU Bakersfield (2-8) 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.

~www.GoRunners.com~