BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—CSU Bakersfield opened its own Roadrunner Classic with a straight sets victory over UC Riverside Friday night.

CSUB earned a 25-15 victory in the first set. The Roadrunners scored the first seven points of the match. The 'Runners would lead 10-1 at one point. CSUB held the Highlanders to -.025 hitting for the frame.

The Roadrunners and UC Riverside played to 11 ties in the second set. With the score knotted up at 19, the 'Runners earned the next three points for the fifth and final lead change of the set. CSUB would take a 2-0 lead with a 25-23 victory.

The third set featured 17 ties and eight changes. At 23-23, it appeared that UC Riverside took the lead with a kill, but the Highlanders were called for an illegal substitution, awarding the Roadrunners a point and a 24-23 advantage. Mickayla Sherman tied the match for UCR with a kill. A Chelsey Doyle service ace returned the lead to the Highlanders. Katie Dunbar-Lowe tied the score with a kill. Dunbar-Lowe would record back-to-back aces to give the 'Runners a 27-25 set victory and secure the sweep.

“We gained a little bit of confidence after watching Riverside this afternoon,” said CSUB director of volleyball Giovana Melo. “So we knew if we came out strong we would be in a good situation.”

Carol Grasso put up a match high 16 kills. She committed one hitting error and hit .441 for the match (16-1-34). She earned her fifth double-double of the season with 13 digs. Emily Lopes charted her second consecutive double-double of the year (third overall) with 13 assists and 11 digs. Sherman led UCR with 10 kills.

“Carol played a great game and took a lot of good shots,” Melo said. “It was a team effort today, a lot of people played well.”

The Roadrunner Classic began Friday when Northern Arizona held off UC Riverside 3-2 (25-21, 25-18, 24-26, 22-25, 15-12). The Lumberjacks' Lauren Jacobsen had a double-double of 20 kills and 18 digs. NAU setter Jensen Barton nearly pulled off a quad-double. Barton, who recorded a triple-double against CSUB on Thursday night, recorded 42 assists, eight kills, eight digs, and six blocks. Maddie Hubbell tallied 29 of UC Riverside's 90 digs. Sherman led the Highlanders with 16 kills.

Match two of the tournament saw UC Irvine sweep San Francisco (25-17, 25-18, 25-11). The Anteaters hit .456 compared to .179 for the Dons. UCI's Victoria Dennis led all players with 12 kills. Emily Reed had 11 kills for USF.

The Roadrunner Classic continues Saturday. Play begins at 10 a.m. when Northern Arizona faces UC Irvine at 10 a.m. UC Riverside plays San Francisco at 12 p.m. NAU returns to the court at 4 p.m. to play San Francisco. The tournament concludes at 6:30 p.m. when CSUB hosts UC Irvine.

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