By Hayden Carter
Staff Writer
In their third Western Athletic Conference match, the California State University, Bakersfield women’s volleyball team defeated the Chicago State Cougars at the Icardo Center on Thursday, October 2nd.
The Runners (6-10, 2-1 WAC) swept the Cougars (6-10, 0-2 WAC) in three sets (25-17, 25-16, 25-16).
“I actually didn’t feel that great. I felt that we were a little bit up and down. But we got a win, so I’m happy,” said CSUB Director of Volleyball, Giovana Melo.
Senior outside-hitter Danika Youngblood had a game-high 14 kills along with 11 digs.
“I think we could’ve done a lot better. We were kind of relaxed, but we put the ball away and took care of our job,” said Youngblood.
The Runners handled the Cougars in a fairly easy manner, but there were areas in which the team struggled with throughout the match.
“I don’t think we had [consistent energy] at all tonight. We have a tendency to kind of lose [energy] as we play. There were a few times that we had [energy] but not consistently,” said coach Melo.
Senior middle-blocker Molly O’Hagan had a game-high 6 assisted blocks while totaling 11 kills.
“I think we had a really good scoring night and we put the ball away when we had an open net, so we made it hard for [Chicago State] to play defense,” said O’Hagan.
On Saturday, the University of Missouri-Kansas City defeated CSUB by a score of 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 13-25, 25-16).
“We really need to start strong and finish strong through a whole game,” said O’Hagan.
Although the Runners struggled at times throughout the weekend, they have turned their season around after winning three of their last five matches.
“I think we’ve improved 100%. We kind of had doubts in the beginning but now all of us are on board and we all think we can win [the WAC],” said Youngblood.
CSUB looks like they are poised to contend in the WAC like they did in 2013 after showing improved play over the last two weeks.
“I feel like we have gone from night to day. We’re a completely different team and we’re getting better everyday,” said coach Melo. “Obviously, we have a lot to work on but we have gotten tons better since [the beginning of the season].”
Bakersfield’s next home match is Saturday, October 11 when they host Grand Canyon University in the Icardo Center at 1 p.m.
