LAS CRUCES, N.M. – A tough road matchup against the New Mexico State Aggies proved to be a tall hurdle for the CSU Bakersfield volleyball team Thursday night. The Roadrunners came up just short of tying the match at one set apiece in the second set and NMSU went on to take a 3-0 home sweep over CSUB.
"We were just very passive," said Giovana Melo, Director of Volleyball for the `Runners. "We had no fire. We didn't have a good night in any aspect of the game. They were just better than us tonight."
CSUB trailed NMSU 15-10 at the first media timeout in the opening set. A 7-1 run helped the Aggies extend their lead to 20-11 and a 5-0 run sealed a 25-14, first-set victory. The `Runners mixed nine kills in with nine errors in a slow start. Senior libero Emily Lopes recorded six digs in the opening set.
The second set was tight from start to finish with the two teams trading blows to a 10-10 tie. A 4-0 run, including a pair of aces by senior Aleksandra Djordjevic, helped the `Runners get a bit of separation. The Aggies flipped the roles and went on a 4-0 run of their own to tie the set at 17-17. After tying for the 12th time in the set at 23-23, the Aggies took the set 25-23 on a pair of CSUB attack errors.
The Aggies sprinted out to a big lead in the third set, pushing their advantage to as many as 10 points at 18-8. A 4-0 run by CSUB cut the lead to six points at 18-12, but NMSU finished strong for a 25-14 win and a 3-0 sweep.
Djordjevic, a native of Belgrade, Serbia, led CSUB with five kills on the night. A pair of services aces each for Djordjevic and Lopes helped CSUB total five in the match. Lopes finished the night with 12 digs. Senior Fabiana Andrade had 12 assists while redshirt sophomore Sidney Wicks added nine.
The `Runners (12-9, 5-1 WAC) dropped their first Western Athletic Conference match of the season, but will have a chance to get back in the win column on Saturday. CSUB will head to Edinburg, Texas to take on fellow WAC leader UTRGV (11-8, 5-1 WAC). First serve is scheduled for noon (CT).
~GoRunners.com~
