CSU Bakersfield Stops Matadors in Four-Set Win

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Carisa Barron recorded her fifth triple-double of the season but the CSUN women's volleyball team fell in four sets to CSU Bakersfield in a Big West match Saturday night at the Icardo Center.

Set scores were 25-21, 25-16, 23-25, 25-15 as the Roadrunners snap a seven-match skid and improve to 6-20 overall and 3-11 in the Big West. The Matadors drop their seventh straight match to slip to 7-19 overall and 2-12 in conference play.

KEY STATISTICS
• Barron had 11 kills to lead the Matadors, hitting .241 on 29 attacks. She completed her fifth triple-double by adding 17 assists and 10 digs along with two blocks and one ace.
• Nicole Nevarez also reached double figures with 10 kills (.348), eight digs and one ace while Taylor Orshoff chipped in nine kills (.138) and three blocks.
• Lauryn Anderson posted six kills on .417 hitting while fellow middle Taylor Hunter notched a team-high five blocks.
• Emily Sparks and Kaia Kanan backed up Barron with a combined 17 assists and five digs while libero Breanna Mitchell matched Barron for team-high honors with 10 digs.
• The Roadrunners out-hit CSUN .378 to .214 and had nine aces to the Matadors' six.
• Ava Palm led all hitters in the match with 20 kills (.515) while Hayley McCluskey added 14 (.364).

SET 1
Neither team gained much separation in the opening set until a Roadrunner kill and a CSUN hitting error gave the hosts a four-point lead at 11-7. Two straight Matador points trimmed the deficit to two where it would remain until CSUB extended the lead to four at 17-13. Still down four at 21-17, CSUN rallied behind a Taylor Hunter kill and a Bakersfield hitting error to cut the lead to two. Another Hunter kill kept the Matadors within two at 22-20 but the hosts would close the set on a 3-1 run to claim the set 25-21.

SET 2
The Roadrunners dominated the second set, out-hitting the Matadors .552 to .192 in taking a 25-16 win. After a Nevarez kill trimmed the CSUB lead to one at 13-12, the Roadrunners scored three straight to lead 16-12. Another Nevarez kill stopped the run but CSUB would go on to claim seven of the next eight points to open up an insurmountable 23-14 lead.

SET 3
Needing a win to remain in the match, CSUN hit a team-high .269 in the third set behind four kills from Barron. Trailing 7-4, the Matadors would use a 7-3 run to take an 11-10 lead following a Barron-Hunter co-block and a Nevarez ace. CSUN continued the run out of Roadrunner timeout, scoring three more to extend the lead to 14-10. But six straight points by the hosts put CSUB back in front 16-14 before the Matadors would score five straight to lead 19-16. The hosts would eventually tie the score at 21-21 forcing a CSUN timeout. The score would remain tied at 22-22 and 23-23 when a Roadrunner service error and a Barron kill gave CSUN the 25-23 win.

SET 4
Hunter's third kill of the match pulled the Matadors within 8-7 early in the fourth set when CSUB would engineer a 10-1 run to open up an 18-8 cushion. Down 19-10, kills from Anderson and Orshoff followed by a Barron ace pulled CSUN within seven at 19-12. Still down seven at 20-13, an Elizabeth Gannon ace got the Matadors as close as they would get down the stretch before the Roadrunners pulled away for the 25-15 win.

UP NEXT
The Matadors return home to Premier America Credit Union Arena next week to host Long Beach State (Nov. 11, 7 p.m.) and Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 12, 5 p.m.).

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CSU Bakersfield Stops Matadors in Four-Set Win

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Team Stats

Carisa Barron

Nicole Nevarez

Taylor Orshoff

Lauryn Anderson