By David Aliaga
Staff Writer
Junior blocker Molly O’Hagan and senior blocker Julia Bowen
made a perfect block against Grand Canyon University on
Saturday, Nov. 9.
With high energy from the start, the CSUB women’s volleyball team recorded another home victory as they swept Grand Canyon University 3-0 Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Icardo Center.
The ‘Runners opened set one with an early 4-1 lead, but the Antelopes responded with four straight points to take the 4-5 advantage. Both teams kept it close early in the first with nine ties and four lead changes, but Bakersfield’s .375 hitting during the set gave them the edged as they pulled out the 25-20 victory. The first set was as close as Grand Canyon got to a competitive match as the ‘Runners continued to pour on the heat in the next two sets.
Seven straight points in the second set put Bakersfield in the driver’s seat as they hit an impressive game high .432 while taking the set by 16 points, 25-9.
They continued their high .400 hitting percentage in the third set as they shut out Grand Canyon 25-13 to take the match. Senior middle blocker, Julia Bowen led CSUB with a game high .562 hitting percentage while Jr. OP,
Molly O’Hagan also had an impressive .550 hitting average as she also recorded 12 kills. Redshirt junior libero Mariah Alvidrez recorded a game high 24 digs and Senior outside hitter, Shayna Guitare added 13 kills.
Head Coach Jolene Shepardson said, “The girls took charge tonight, they came out really aggressive, we had a really good game plan, and the girls worked for every point.”
The ‘Runners look to close out their final home match on a positive note against Loyola Marymount on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7p.m. in the Icardo Center. All six senior volleyball players will be recognized for their efforts before they play their last home match as a Roadrunner.
CSUB will close the regular season on a 3 game road trip where they will face second-place Utah Valley, Grand Canyon and Texas-Pan American ranked seventh and eighth respectively in the Western Athletic Conference.
Being one of the top teams in the WAC, the ‘Runners will hope to continue their successful season into the WAC Tournament held at the Grand Canyon Arena in Phoenix, Arizona Nov. 25-27. The top six teams in the Western
Athletic Conference regular season standings will compete for the WAC championship, and the winner will continue on to the NCAA Tournament.
