BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield's volleyball team fought hard against Western Athletic Conference leader New Mexico State on Saturday, but the Roadrunners were unable to hold off the Aggies in a three-set loss (25-21, 25-18, 25-22) at the Icardo Center.
The Aggies gained a slim, early lead in the first set with an 18-14 advantage. NMSU extended its lead to 22-16, but CSUB won three straight points to force the Aggies to call a timeout and regroup. Trailing 24-20, the `Runners rallied for a point, but were unable to finish the comeback as NMSU took the first set 25-21.
Down 9-4 in the second set, the `Runners went on a four-point run to climb back into the set with Emily Lopes serving. The match remained tight up until a 17-16 NMSU lead. At that point, the Aggies started to pull away and finished strong for a 25-16 Set 2 victory. Junior Briannah Mariner was bringing the heat for the `Runners with a team-high seven kills at that point in the match.
Senior Fabiana Andrade opened the third set with a 6-0 run including a kill and two service aces on the Aggies. After an 8-1 start for the `Runners, the Aggies won eight straight points before the match wound up tied 9-9. CSUB called a timeout down 15-12 and kept pestering the Aggies, who called a timeout of their own with just a 19-17 lead. Although the `Runners battled to the end, NMSU held on for a 25-22 victory.
Senior Haylee Roberts led all `Runners with 10 kills and a .280 hitting percentage on the match. Mariner was close behind with nine kills while Andrade finished the match one dig shy of a double-double after posting 21 assists.
With the loss on Saturday and Utah Valley taking a 3-1 win over Chicago State, the Roadrunners finish the regular season tied for third in the WAC, but the fourth seed at the conference tournament due to tiebreakers. CSUB will meet Seattle U in the first round of the WAC Tournament, Nov. 16, at 4:30Â p.m. (CT) in Edinburg, Texas.
~GoRunners.com~
