CSUB Beach VB Ready for 8 Matches Over 5 Days

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A busy week lies ahead for the CSU Bakersfield beach volleyball team as the Roadrunners are gearing up for a total of eight matches over the next five days. Bakersfield will head to Los Angeles for a pair of matches on Tuesday, Mar. 22, before taking on all six of its Big West Conference foes, Mar. 25-26, at the Big West Challenge in Long Beach, Calif.

Bakersfield's first stop will be in Los Angeles to face off against USC, the second-ranked team in the country, and Houston Baptist in a tri-dual on Tuesday.

"This week is definitely the toughest week of the year and we are pretty excited to play all these games," said Cesar Benatti, Head Coach of the `Runners. "The games tomorrow at USC should be very competitive. HBU is a great team that is around our level, so it should be a battle. USC is definitely on another level, but it will be an awesome experience for our players, and we can definitely learn a few lessons from it."

After CSUB battles it out in Los Angeles, the `Runners will head a bit further south to Long Beach for the two-day Big West Challenge. Bakersfield will play one match each against the entire league, including contests against three ranked teams: No. 9 Hawai'i, No. 12 Cal Poly, and No. 14 Long Beach State.

"The Big West Challenge is one of the most important moments of the season," Benatti said of this weekend's schedule. "First because of the competition that is amazing, and second because it gives us a good notion of where we stand within the conference and what kind of changes we have to make to get to the end of the season in a good position to do well in the Big West tournament. We really look forward to these games."

CSUB and Houston Baptist will kick off CSUB's busy week at 12 p.m. (PT) before the `Runners and the Trojans play each other at 2:30 p.m. For a full schedule of the Big West Challenge, which will be held at Rosie's Dog Beach, visit GoRunners.com/Live.

~GoRunners.com~

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