BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Fresh off a .500 weekend in Huntington Beach, the CSU Bakersfield beach volleyball team heads to Northridge on Sunday to square off against CSUN and Long Beach State. 
The `Runners (1-1) were shutout 5-0 in the season-opener against Loyola Marymount University, but rallied to knock off Vanguard University by the same score. 

Sydney Haynes and Emily Hansen handled the duties at the top position and scored a 21-19, 21-9 victory over the Lions.  Mattison DeGarmo and Emily Lopes earned a narrow 21-19, 21-16 victory at the second position, and Sarah Garrow and Briannah Mariner garnered a comeback victory (15-21, 21-9, 15-10) at No. 3. 

Aleksandra Djordjevic and Brooke Boiseau evened their season record with a 21-15, 21-19 victory as the No. 4 pair and Hannah Manzanares and Sidney Wicks completed the shutout with identical 21-12 scores. 
In the exhibition match, Tasha Skabelund and Krista Hernandez dominated the Lions 21-6, 21-7. 

"We are looking forward to a great competition this weekend at Northridge," said `Runner head coach Cesar Benatti.  "We have two Big West teams ahead of us, which will show us what we will face this year in our conference.  The team practiced really well this week, and we can't wait to get some good results against our rivals."

CSUN (1-0) scored its first victory of the season on Wednesday when they also shutout the Lions of Vanguard.  Last season, the Matadors finished 6-12 overall and defeated the `Runners twice. 

Long Beach State has yet to play a match this season. In the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll, the 49ers were ranked as the No. 7 team in the country after appearing in the NCAA Championship last season.  Nele Barber and Rachel Nieto, the 49ers' top pair, were First Team All-Americans and All-Big West selections last season.  Sasha Karelove, Anete Brinke and Hailey Harward also earned All-Big West recognition last spring.