Reporter
What started off as a fun game of volleyball turned into a lifelong passion for CSU Bakersfield redshirt-junior setter Sidney Wicks.
As a 10 year-old, most kids don’t know what they want for dinner or even for their birthday, but Wicks knew she wanted to continue her volleyball career throughout college.
Wicks attended Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colo., where she graduated in 2015. Coached by Terry Miller, Wicks broke the school record in career assists with 2,562 and service aces with 154, according to gorunners.com.
Wicks was named first team All-league in all four seasons on the varsity squad and was named to the 2014 CHSAA/Maxpreps second team All-state in Colorado.
Having received offers from multiple universities around the country, Wicks knew the moment she stepped on the campus of CSUB that this was where she wanted to play her collegiate career.
“I came on a visit and absolutely fell in love with [the campus]. The coaches and the team dynamic were something that I knew I wanted to be a part of,” said Wicks.
Wicks sat out her first season at CSUB, using her redshirt eligibility.
In her first season on the court, Wicks played in 19 matches and started in four of them. She recorded 278 assists along with 93 digs and eight services aces. She averaged 4.88 assists per set.
During her redshirt-sophomore year, Wicks recorded 573 assists, along with 206 digs and 21 service aces.
She also had six double-doubles on the season as the Roadrunners went on their way to winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
After helping her team win the WAC tournament last year, getting “two percent better” is something that she continues to strive for practice after practice, especially after taking over the role as the main setter for the 2018 season.
“You can see her competitiveness and passion on the court,” said CSUB director of volleyball Giovana Melo.
“She has gotten where she’s gotten because of her work ethic. She pushes herself to be better.”
Wicks made her career debut in sand volleyball for the Roadrunners on Feb. 28 and earned a victory with partner redshirt-junior Hannah Manzarares as the No. 5 pair against Vanguard University 21-12, 21-12.
Wicks went 3-9 during the 2017 beach volleyball season. All of her wins came against Vanguard University.
To begin the 2018 season, Wicks has played in all 14 of the Roadrunners matches, including 13 starts. She leads the team with 323 assists and a 5.98 assists/per game average. Wicks is third on the team in digs with 94.
WAC play has begun and Wicks and the Roadrunners have started strong with a 2-0 in the WAC conference.
The Roadrunners defeated the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (10-6, 1-1 WAC), 3-1 on Thursday, Sept. 20 and New Mexico State University (10-5, 0-2 WAC), 3-2 on Saturday, Sept. 22.
CSUB ended the non-conference season at 6-6 after a complete sweep of the Roadrunner Classic against the likes of UC Santa Barbara, University of Montana and University of South Dakota.
Wicks had 73 assists during the tournament for the Roadrunners.
The Roadrunners are on a five-game win streak to being the seven-game home stand.
CSUB will finish the home stand on Saturday, Sept. 29 against Utah Valley University (8-7, 0-2 WAC).
