By Esteban Ramirez
Assistant Sports Editor

On a day in which it honored its 1989 Division II NCAA volleyball championship team, the current California State University, Bakersfield volleyball team swept rival Grand Canyon University (25-18, 25-17, 25-23) in a Western Athletic Conference match at the Icardo Center on Oct. 11.

The ’Runners (7-11, 3-2 WAC) were able to sweep the Antelopes (12-7, 2-4 WAC) thanks to a high efficiency on offense. CSUB did a good job making the most of its offensive opportunities as they were converting their hits into kills at a high rate, especially early on in the match.

They got to a quick start in the first set with a .441 hitting percentage, while the Antelopes mustered a .195 percentage. CSUB ended up with a .273 percentage, which is higher than its season average of .188.

“I think our team was really aggressive today,” said senior outside hitter Danika Youngblood on the team’s efficiency. “We have a fire against Grand Canyon, so we wanted to put it away. It was a lot of fun. It feels good [beating Grand Canyon].”

“We get way hyped because it’s more personal. I don’t know how they became our rival but they are, so it feels good. We were hyped in the locker room and we’ve been hyped all day. We just feel energized and we feel good that we swept them.”

Junior setter Luiza Martins said she enjoyed beating rival GCU.

“Since I’m a transfer, I didn’t really know what they were talking about, but in this game I got my face hit with the ball, and I could feel the game,” Martins said. “Just how ‘we don’t like them’ and it was awesome. I honestly love playing games against teams that don’t like us.”

The ’Runners took the first two sets with ease, but in the third they ran into some problems against the Antelopes. CSUB had an early 5-1 lead, but GCU fought back and took a 20-18 lead thanks to a spark to its offense from sophomore backup setter Michelle Steagall, who had 14 of her team-high 17 assists in the third set. The ’Runners settled back in and rallied to take the set behind their efficient offense.

“It was great,” said CSUB head coach Giovana Melo on the team’s performance. “I thought we came out pretty strong, played well on offense and played good defense. I thought we had a good match. We let go a little bit in the third match, but [we] came back and fought. It shows that we have the fight in us. We’re getting a little bit better with that. We’re getting better each day with our skills, but also with the passion that we have for the game.”

Martins led the way for the ’Runners with 41 assists and Youngblood had a team-high 13 kills and added 10 digs. Junior outside hitter Kelsee Sawyer added 11 hits, and redshirt-senior libero Mariah Alvidrez led the defense with 19 digs.

“I think we did a pretty good job today,” said Martins. “At the beginning we were kind of everywhere, but I think we got it together and we finished strong.”

Youngblood added that she wants the team to carry the same energy to the next conference matches.

“We were fired up,” she said. “Luiza got hit in the face in one play, and we were like ‘no.’ We came back 10 times harder. [Senior opposite] Molly O’Hagan killed it right after, and it showed we have each other’s back. If you hit it on us, we’ll get you right back. It’s just that energy and that fire that we need to find against other teams.”

The ’Runners will play at Seattle University on Oct. 16 at 6 p.m.