Roadrunners Head to Big West Challenge

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield beach volleyball team will have six matches in the span of two days on Friday and Saturday in Pismo Beach at the Big West Challenge.

CSUB (5-6) will open the tough weekend against No. 7 Cal Poly on Friday at 11:00 a.m. The Mustangs enter the Challenge with a 10-5 record and wins over ranked opponents South Carolina, Tulane and Loyola Marymount. Crissy Jones and Tiadora Miric are not only the top pair in the lineup, but also have the best record on the team at 9-3.

The Roadrunners will then meet their favorite opponent. CSUN. CSUB beat the Matadors 4-1 in their first meeting of the season on March 2, but CSUN got some revenge and squeaked out a 3-2 victory in Bakersfield on March 16. The two teams also competed at the Cal Poly Pairs Tournament earlier this year. Mattison DeGarmo and Briannah Mariner have beaten CSUN's top pair in both meetings and Cameron Solberg and Milica Vukobrat are a perfect 2-0 at the No. 2 position.

CSUB will then take on UC Davis in Friday's finale at 3:00 p.m. The Aggies are 2-3 in their inaugural season with both victories coming against Sacramento State back on March 2.

The competition will be stiff on Saturday with a meeting against No. 9 Long Beach State (10-4) to begin the day and a date with No. 6 Hawaii (13-6) to finish it. The 49ers defeated the `Runners 5-0 back on March 2 in Malibu and also have victories over No. 13 Loyola Marymount and No. 17 Stanford. Hawaii and CSUB have yet to meet this season, but the Rainbow Wahine has wins over six different ranked opponents so far in 2019.

Sandwiched between the ranked opponents is Sacramento State. The Roadrunners beat the Hornets in two out of three matches in 2018. Sacramento State enters the Challenge with a 1-6 record. Their lone victory came against San Francisco on March 15.

Three of CSUB's five most-used pairings have records over .500 heading into the weekend. Solberg and Vukobrat top the team with an 8-3 mark with all their matches coming exclusively at the No. 2 spot in the order. Hana Makonova and Sidney Wicks are 6-5 at the No. 3 spot, while Brooke Boiseau and Krista Hernandez are 6-5 as well. Boiseau and Hernandez have one win at No. 4 and five at No. 5.

Action in Pismo begins at 11:00 a.m. on Friday and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

#2 Brooke Boiseau: 6' 1"; Sophomore

#15 Mattison DeGarmo: 6' 3"; Senior

#12 Krista Hernandez: 5' 5"; Sophomore

#10 Briannah Mariner: 5' 10"; Senior

#21 Sidney Wicks: 5' 8"; Redshirt Junior

#3 Cameron Solberg: 5' 8"; Freshman

#22 Hana Makonova: 5' 10"; Freshman

#25 Milica Vukobrat: 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#2 Brooke Boiseau
: 6' 1"; Sophomore

#15 Mattison DeGarmo
: 6' 3"; Senior

#12 Krista Hernandez
: 5' 5"; Sophomore

#10 Briannah Mariner
: 5' 10"; Senior

#21 Sidney Wicks
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Junior

#3 Cameron Solberg
: 5' 8"; Freshman

#22 Hana Makonova
: 5' 10"; Freshman

#25 Milica Vukobrat
: 6' 0"; Freshman