Reporter
After only winning one set on its most recent road trip, the CSU Bakersfield volleyball team swept the University of Missouri-Kansas City in straight sets to get back into the win column.
In their first matchup in Kansas City, Miss., the Roadrunners won in straight sets also. They continued their dominance at home with another straight set win over UMKC.
CSUB never trailed and only allowed UMKC to tie the score twice during the three set match.
“We did good, I thought we did good on our offense,” said CSUB coach Giovana Melo “We’re back to being the team we normally are.”
The Roadrunners ended the night with a hitting percentage of .423. They came into Thursday’s game averaging a percentage of .184.
A kill by junior outside hitter Briannah Mariner would begin the first set. Senior setter Fabiana Andrade would follow that with a service ace giving the Roadrunners a 2-0 lead.
The Roadrunners got their largest lead of the set with a kill by Mariner, extending their lead to 14-6.
A kill attempt by UMKC that hit the antenna would seal the deal in the first set as CSUB would win 25-18.
The second set began with a kill by senior outside hitter Aleksandra Djordjevic. UMKC tied the set at 1-1, and 2-2. CSUB once again pulled away and took control of the set.
A kill by senior middle blocker Haylee Roberts would force UMKC to take a timeout with CSUB ahead 9-5.
The Roadrunners finished the set on an 16-4 run, which included an 8-0 run. Mariner and Roberts recorded multiple blocks during the run.
Mariner ended the night with six kills and four blocks, while Roberts added six kills and three blocks.
CSUB won the second set 25-9 after a UMKC service error.
“Last few games have been frustrating for us, but we got our confidence back and that’s all that matters” said Djordjevic.
Djordjevic added nine kills and three service aces to the Roadrunners total.
A kill by Djordjevic gave CSUB the first point of set three. Later on, a service ace by Andrade put the Roadrunners up 3-0.
A service error gave UMKC their first point of the set and a 3-1 score would be the closest they would get to obtaining the lead.
After two attack errors by the Kangaroos, the Roadrunners had their largest lead of the set at 14-7.
UMKC tried to make a comeback after kill by sophomore middle blocker Mykal Sadler would make the score 20-17, in favor of CSUB.
Djordjevic would get the winning point with a kill, giving the Roadrunners the three set win and the season sweep of the Kangaroos.
“Keep working hard in practice and getting better every day, so we can continue dominating” said freshman outside hitter Desiree Sukhov on what to expect the second half of conference play. Sukhov added 6 kills and 1 block to the Roadrunners total.
CSUB (13-10, 6-2 WAC) is second in the Western Athletic Conference, trailing first place UTRGV by half a game.
They will continue conference play Saturday, Oct. 21 at home against Chicago State University at 1 p.m.
