Beach Volleyball Prepares for Bigger West Invitational

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – In arguably their toughest tournament of the season, the Cal State Bakersfield beach volleyball team will be battling conference opponents at the Bigger West Invitational in San Luis Obispo. During this trip, the Roadrunners will be looking to emulate their success at the SJSU Invitational to down a few of their Big West rivals, including three ranked teams on the final day of competition.

Quotes from Head Coach Cesar Benatti

"We feel amazing! The team has been training hard and getting better every day. I feel that we are still on our way up in terms of our technical, tactical, and physical ability."
"Last year we got to this tournament in a very different situation, coming from negative results and playing inconsistently. Of course, it is a very demanding tournament, with very good teams, but we hope to get some wins among all of our pairs and as a team."
"UC Davis, CSUN, and Cal Poly could be good games for us. We will focus on each opponent at a time though, as on any given day anyone can beat anyone, so we will mostly focus on us, which is what makes our team perform at their best."

This Week's Schedule

Bigger West Invitational hosted by Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Friday, Mar. 24
- vs UC Davis, 4 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 25
- vs Sacramento State, 12 p.m.
- vs CSUN, 4 p.m.
Sunday, Mar. 26
- at (RV) Cal Poly, 9 a.m.
- vs #12 Long Beach State, 1 p.m.
- vs #8 Hawai'i, 3 p.m.

Notables

Hana Makonova, part of the No. 1 pair, is quite close to becoming CSUB's all-time leader in career wins for beach volleyball. Makanova (40) is chasing the current record of 43 wins, set by Sydney Haynes.
With two straight wins under their belt to finish off the SJSU Invitational, the `Runners will now be tested with the bulk of their conference opponents.
The No. 2 duo Hladyniuk/Erteltova and No. 3 duo McCluskey/Almeida are both 9-2, providing an anchor for CSUB to consistently lean on and trust for results.
Altogether, Bakersfield's team is complete and steadfast across the board, with every single pairing, even the No. 6 that sometimes subs in for the No. 5 pair, at .500 win percentage or better.
Last season in this same tournament, the `Runners went up against three different ranked opponents and found it tough to get into a groove, going 1-5 through the six matches, with the lone win coming against Sacramento State.

Admission is free, and for those wishing to attend in-person, parking is available in the Grand Avenue parking structure. On Friday, a parking pass is required and can be purchased from the kiosk inside the structure. However, parking in the Grand Avenue structure is free on both Saturday and Sunday.

~GoRunners.com~

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Players Mentioned

#22 Hana Makonova: 5' 10"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#22 Hana Makonova
: 5' 10"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#22 Hana Makonova

Players Mentioned

#22 Hana Makonova