Mark Nessia/Mark Nessia Photography

Box Score

Utah Valley UVU 18-12, 9-7 WAC

CSU Bakersfield CSUB 14-16, 7-9 WAC

Utah Valley UVU

18-12, 9-7 WAC

Final

Nov. 22, 2018

CSU Bakersfield CSUB

14-16, 7-9 WAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Utah Valley UVU	20	25	25	16	15	(3)
CSU Bakersfield CSUB	25	16	17	25	9	(2)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | November 22, 2018

CSUB Drops 5-Set Heartbreaker

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A heartbreaking, five-set loss resulted in the end of CSU Bakersfield's season on Thursday night. The Roadrunners mounted a valiant comeback to force the deciding set, but Utah Valley took the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament quarterfinal with a 15-9 victory in the Set 5.

The `Runners were able to take the first set from the Wolverines after a tight battle. From a 15-13 lead, CSUB went ahead 19-15 and then 22-17 after a challenge was upheld in CSUB's favor. UVU got as close as 24-20, but the `Runners finished the opening game off with a kill from senior Briannah Mariner.

In the second set, UVU jumped out to a 5-1 advantage, then extended its lead to 11-5. The Wolverines continued to surge, pushing to a 17-8 lead before closing the set with a 25-16 victory. The win tied the set up at one game apiece.

In another tight game, CSUB trailed UVU 15-10 at the media timeout of Set 3. The `Runners fought to stay in the set, but the Wolverines closed another strong game with a 25-17 victory.

UVU jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the Game 4, putting itself in prime position for a four-set victory. CSUB had other plans and used a 12-0 run, including three service aces from sophomore Desiree Sukhov, to surge past UVU, 20-14. The `Runners ended up with five aces in the game including the set-winner from Leisa Elisaia, who put CSUB past UVU, 25-16.

Heading to the fifth set for the 12th time this season, CSUB fell behind 4-2 early, but a block from senior Mattison DeGarmo and junior Rafa Bonifacio pulled the `Runners within one point. The Wolverines then pushed ahead to a 9-5 advantage, but the `Runners won three-straight points to force a UVU timeout. Utah Valley answered with three-straight points of their own and finished strong, taking the set 15-9 and the match 3-2.

Sukhov, a native of Murrieta, Calif., recorded her third-straight double-double to lead the `Runners with 14 kills and 16 digs. The WAC's leader in service aces, Sukhov recorded four more aces on Thursday to end the season with 46, fifth-most in CSUB's Division I single-season records.

CSUB got 11 kills each out of DeGarmo and redshirt freshman Brooke Boiseau on Thursday. The pair of middle blockers were racing for Bakersfield's Division I single-season record for total blocks (109, Haylee Roberts, 2017). With a pair on the night, Boiseau ended up breaking the record by one while DeGarmo posted five blocks, tying with Roberts and finishing one block behind Boiseau at 109.

With the WAC Tournament loss, CSUB's season came to an end. Bakersfield wrapped up the year with a 14-16 record (7-9 WAC) while several young `Runners earned vital experience this season. CSUB graduates two seniors in DeGarmo and Mariner, the latter of which added seven kills, four digs, and two blocks in the final game of her indoor career. Redshirt junior Sidney Wicks, who posted a career-high 50 assists on Thursday, will be back to lead the `Runners for one final year in 2019 with an army of talented underclassmen returning as well.

~GoRunners.com~

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