HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield beach volleyball team broke into the win column on the first day of the 2018 season with a 5-0 shutout victory against Vanguard University. The `Runners fell by a 5-0 score in the day's opening match against No. 20 Loyola Marymount University.
After falling to nationally-ranked LMU in the opener, the `Runners were nearly perfect against Vanguard, winning by 2-0 scores at the No. 1, 2, 4 and 5 teams. CSUB's top squad of
Sydney Haynes and
Emily Hansen squeaked out a 21-19 victory in their opening set before, earning a dominant 21-9 victory in the clincher.
Mattison DeGarmo and
Emily Lopes teamed for a tight 21-19, 21-16 victory in the second slot, while
Sarah Garrow and
Briannah Mariner earned a tough come-from-behind win at No. 3. The pair dropped the opening set 21-15, but regrouped to even the set score at one with a 21-9 victory in set two. Garrow and Mariner closed out the Lions with a 15-10 win in the third set.
Senior
Aleksandra Djordjevic and freshman
Brooke Boiseau scored a hard-fought 21-15, 21-19 decision at No. 4, while
Hannah Manzanares and
Sidney Wicks had no problems at No. 5 with identical 21-12 set wins.
"Our first day of competition was good overall," said `Runner head coach
Cesar Benatti. "We had the opportunity of competing fairly well against LMU. That's one of the best teams in the country. Our second match against Vanguard was very good. The girls managed every game well, working the difficulties in a very positive way. On top of that, the energy of the team was very high, which is something we have been preaching since the indoor season. I'm happy with our first tournament."
It was tough sledding against LMU in the opening match of the day. The `Runners top team of Haynes and Hansen were the only team to take a set from the Lions as they won the first 21-19, before falling 21-19 and 15-12 the rest of the way.
Team 2, which was made up of DeGarmo and Lopes fell 21-9 and 21-14, while Garrow and Mariner dropped straight sets at No. 3, 21-13, 21-17. Djordjevic and Boiseau were knocked off at No. 4 by scores of 21-13 and 21-9. The Lions closed out the `Runners No. 5 squad of Manzanares and Wicks, 21-10, 21-13.
CSUB is back in action next Saturday when they head to Northridge, Calif. to open Big West Conference action against CSU and Long Beach State University.
