BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – As the inaugural beach volleyball season passes the one third mark, the Lions had a historic outing on Saturday as they had their first set win! The important milestone occurred during a tri-match featuring the Blue and Gold, CSU Bakersfield, and MiraCosta College.
MiraCosta 4, Vanguard 1
After initially dropping the first set 17-21, Gabby Morrison (FR/Paso Robles, CA) and Kayla Tinker (JR/San Clemente, CA) rallied to win 21-14 and 15-11 becoming the first pairing to achieve a set victory for the Pride. Pairing two of Hannah Holder (SO/Irvine, CA) and Kelli Dowell (JR/Redlands, CA) fought to 14-21 and 13-21 counts. The third duo of Dani Erdelatz (SO/Stockton, CA) and Charity Dennis (JR/Cypress, CA) came out strong with a 21-18 victory in the opening frame before being bested 10-21 to force a third set. A strong performance from the pair was not enough as they fell in extra points 16-14. Karly Cantu (SO/Spokane, WA) and Eliana Johnson (FR/Scottsdale, AZ) played in the matchup on court four and lost 14-21 in the opener before a strong response ended in a 18-21 count. The fifth pairing featuring Bree Belton (FR/Riverside, CA) and Mackenzie Mitchell (FR/Costa Mesa, CA) played on the sand together for the first time and ended in 9-21 and 6-21 scores.
CSU Bakersfield 5, Vanguard 0
In reverse of the previous matchup, Morrison and Tinker took home the opening frame 21-19 before falling 15-21 and 5-15 in the subsequent sets. On court two, Holder and Dowell were defeated 13-21 and 7-21 by the Roadrunners. Erdeltaz and Dennis were a tough out as they forced a difficult 22-24 opening set score before losing 15-21 in the clincher. In the fourth pairing, Cantu and Johnson played to 9-21 and 10-21 margins. The final scores of the day were 9-21 and 6-21 in favor of the opposition during the second ever matchup featuring Belton and Mitchell.
Next Match: Tuesday, March 13th against Cal State LA and Missouri State University at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m.
-GOLD PRIDE-
