Sarah Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) again paced the Seattle U offense with 13 kills along with five digs, while Alec Goodrie (Springfield, Ore.) finished with eight kills and a .316 hitting percentage. Megan Augustavo (Shoreline, Wash.) dished out 26 assists, Kelly Biette (Brighton, Colo.) led the team at the net with three total blocks, and Julia Bonadio (Phoenix, Ariz.) led the way with seven defensive digs.
In the first set, the two teams battled back and forth, with Cal State Bakersfield scoring four straight points to take a 14-11 advantage. A service ace by Allison Farley (Happy Valley, Ore.) would enable Seattle U to pull ahead, 19-17, but the Roadrunners retook the lead, and consecutive kills from Haleigh Haratyk gave them the first set victory.
Seattle U scored three of the first four points in the second set, but Cal State Bakersfield battled back, eventually tying the set at 10-10 before the Redhawks again pull ahead with three unanswered points. A 5-1 scoring run gave Cal State Bakersfield the lead, but Seattle U came back and pulled into a 22-22 tie. The Roadrunners won three of the final four points with two kills by Haratyk and a block from Chelcy Motes and Hannah Fortin.
The Redhawks took the early lead in the third set, 5-2, before Cal State Bakersfield notched a block and three kills to tie the set at 7-7. A block by Goodrie and Biette as well as kills from Bonadio and Jaeckel allowed Seattle U to pull ahead, 10-7. The Roadrunners put together a 7-1 scoring run to gain a 15-12 advantage, but the Redhawks responded with six unanswered points for an 18-15 lead.
Cal State Bakersfield (1-4) received kills from Saelina Dunn and Tika Smith as well as a service ace by Fortin to tie the set at 19-19. The two teams exchanged points to bring the set to a 23-23 tie, and then the Roadrunners picked up kills by Danielle Gong and Molly O'Hagan to clinch their first victory of the season.
"Fundamentally we are doing a lot of things right. We are just going through some rough waters. If we can just stay the course and weather the storm, we will come out a strong team," assistant coach Teron Uy said.
Haratyk led the Roadrunners with 19 kills, plus she posted a .417 hitting percentage, while Dunn contributed 10 kills and a .421 hitting percentage. Gong earned 17 assists and Lisa Bartsch collected 15 assists along with five defensive digs. Motes had three total blocks to go along with seven kills, Fortin also earned three total blocks as well as two service aces, and Lauren Holderman added a team-high nine defensive digs.
Seattle University (1-6) will conclude play in the Active Ankle Challenge by facing host Oregon State Monday, Sept. 5, beginning at 12:30 p.m.