`Runner Volleyball Headed To Face 3 Strong Opponents

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – After a solid start to the 2018 season, the Roadrunner volleyball team is preparing to tackle its second tournament of the season. CSU Bakersfield will traverse the I-5 South once again and stop for three matches, Aug. 31-Sept. 1, at the UC Irvine Tournament.

The `Runners will face UCI, Texas Tech, and Georgia this weekend. With all three opponents currently ranked in the Top 100 in NCAA RPI, CSUB's Director of Volleyball Giovana Melo is aware of the difficult task ahead: "This weekend will be a very tough weekend for us. We definitely have to step up from last weekend's game. We just need to continue to get a little better every time we step on the court."

CSUB (1-2) will open the tournament with host UC Irvine on Friday morning. The Anteaters are coming off a 1-2 showing at the Utah Volleyball Classic. Freshman Abby Marjama recorded nine aces in UCI's 3-1 win over Saint Mary's (Calif.) to tie the school record. Loryn Carter leads the Anteaters with 2.42 kills per set while Makayla Wolfe had 1.50 blocks per set on opening weekend.

The `Runners will clash with Texas Tech Friday afternoon in the two programs' first-ever meeting. The Red Raiders went 3-0 in their own tournament last weekend and were only pushed by Rice. Texas Tech is led by Chandler Atwood's 3.25 kills per set and Missy Owens runs the offense with 102 assists so far.

Georgia (3-0) also enters the week undefeated, was No. 56 in the most recent RPI rankings, and is another team CSUB has never met before. The Bulldogs have a tall front line with several student-athletes standing over six feet but have tallied just an equal number of blocks as their opponents. T'ara Cesar's 4.73 kills per set ranks 20th in NCAA Division this season.

Friday's action kicks off early as CSUB and UC Irvine will have a 10 a.m. first serve. That match will be broadcasted live via the BigWest.TV, while the remaining two matches will have just live stats. The `Runners and Texas Tech will play Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. before CSUB closes out its time in Irvine, Calif. on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Georgia. Links to live stats for all matches as well as BigWest.TV can be found here.

~GoRunners.com~

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