BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Not wanting the season to end, UCI went the distance to beat CSU Bakersfield, 3-2 (24-26, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17, 15-8) at the Icardo Center.
With the win, UCI is 20-10 overall and 13-7 in the Big West. The 20 wins are the fourth most wins in program history and the 13 conference wins are a school record.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Middle blocker
Onye Ofoegbu had a match-high 16 kills and six block assists
>
Joy Umeh added 14 kills, four digs and three block assists
>
Kendra MacDonald had eight kills followed by
Emma Spindt who sparked the Anteaters with six kills
>Libero
Campbell Jensen totaled 26 digs
>Setters
Kelly Negron and
Indy DeSmet posted double-doubles. Negron had 24 set assists and 13 digs, while DeSmet recorded 19 set assists, 15 digs and three aces
>The Roadrunners were led by Naomi Chankoumi with 14 kills Â
>UCI hit .191 to CSUB's .109
FIRST SET
>Kills by
Onye Ofoegbu and Kedra MacDonald plus a Roadrunner attack errors gave UCI the first separation, 8-5
>CSUB would close within 13-12 but UCI answered with a kill by K. MacDonald and a 'Runner ball-handling error, 15-12
>CSU Bakersfield would go on a 7-2 run and move in front 20-18
>A kill by
Marianna Bertolone and a block by Umeh and
Kiani Stanton was followed by a CSUB attack error, 21-20
>UCI would hold set point then watched CSUB record a kill, an ace and a block to win the game, 26-24
SECOND SET
>A 6-1 run helped by four CSUB errors put UCI up, 13-8
>An ace by
Indy DeSmet and a kill by K. MacDonald (17-12) proceeded three points by CSUB, 17-15
>A kill by Ofoegbu ended the set, 25-22
THIRD SET
>Bakersfield jumped out to an early 5-0 lead
>Ofoegbuu put UCI on her back with four kills then a Roadrunner attack error helped UCI tie the score at 16-16
>Consecutive kills by Umeh and Veargason gave the Anteaters their first lead, 18-17 only to watch the Roadrunners score the next three 20-18
>Five straight put CSUB back in control 22-18
>Following a CSUB attack error, UCI had kills by Umeh and Ofoegbu to close within 23-22
>The Roadrunners would peel off the final three points of the set, capped by an ace, 25-22
FOURTH SET
>
Ofure Iselen was in on a block to give UCI its first point of the set
>K. MacDonald had two kills in a 4-1 spurt to give UCI an 8-3 lead
>Four in a row by the Roadrunners closed the gap to 15-13 before a kill by K. MacDonald and a CSUB attack error, 17-13
>UCI would take the set, 25-17
FIFTH SET
>DeSmet had back-to- back aces, one that trickled off the tape, 4-1
>A kill by Ofoegbu and Spindt and back-to-back blocks assisted by Ofoegbu made it 8-3
>Another block by Iselen gave you a 13-7 advantage
>Following attack errors by each team, a dig by Bailey Darnell and a kill by K. MacDonald ended the set, 15-8
NOTES
>Ofoegbu moved into a tie for fifth on the all-time block assists list with 312. She is fifth in block assists in a season with 128 in 2022
>Sofia Skukan had a season-high seven digs
>UCI out-blocked CSUB 11-10, the 19th time the Anteaters won the battle at the net
>UCI's 89 digs were the fourth most this season
>DeSmet upped her team leading ace total to 31
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