IRVINE, Calif. – The Roadrunner volleyball team battled in the UCI/LBSU Tournament finale, but host UC Irvine, which improved to 12-1 on Saturday, held off CSU Bakersfield for a three-set victory.

The `Runners and Anteaters went back and forth in the opening set. CSUB led at 8-7, but UCI went on a run and took as much as a three-point lead at 14-11. The `Runners called a timeout trailing 20-17, but Irvine's steady flow of points helped the Anteaters take a 25-21 win. Freshman Desireé Sukhov led CSUB with 4 kills and a .300 hit percentage.

UCI jumped out to an early lead in the second set, but never led by more than three points until taking a 15-11 advantage. While the `Runners battled to the end, another close set went to the Anteaters, again with a score of 25-21. Redshirt senior Sydney Haynes had five kills in Set 2.

The Anteaters stormed out in Set 3 to take a 7-1 lead. The `Runners got as close as 15-9, but UCI finished strong to take a 25-11 set win and a 3-0 match victory. Haynes finished the match with a team-high eight kills. Fellow redshirt senior Haylee Roberts was a part of all seven of CSUB's blocks.

Sukhov wrapped up the match with six kills, five digs, and a block. Senior Aleksandra Djordjevic had five kills and 10 digs on Saturday. Fellow senior Fabiana Andrade had a team-high 16 assists while redshirt sophomore Sidney Wicks was close behind with 13 assists and eight digs.

The `Runners (6-8) have now reached the start of Western Athletic Conference play and will hit the road next week for a pair of league matches. CSUB will start the week at Chicago State on Thursday, Sept. 21, before closing the road trip against Kansas City on Saturday, Sept. 23.

~GoRunners.com~