Sept. 30, 2008

Final Stats

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Junior Angela Hupp knocked down a team-high 15 kills and Siara Grayson added 13 but Cal State Northridge dropped its seventh consecutive match after a 24-26, 25-20, 21-25, 25-17, 15-8 loss to visiting Cal State Bakersfield in a non-conference match on Tuesday at The Matadome.

With the win, the Roadrunners snap a four-match skid to the Matadors and improve to 9-7. The loss drops Northridge to 5-10.

Hupp was effective all match long as the junior had just one error in 36 attacks for a team-high .417 hitting clip. She also added two aces, eight digs and five blocks and scored 20.5 of the Matadors' 76.0 points. Grayson, who hit for a high percentage in Saturday's loss to No. 25 Cal Poly, had 13 kills against the Roadrunners but struggled to a .171 percentage. Brittany Williams (.043) and Lynda Morales (.273) each added nine kills with Morales also posting a match-high seven blocks. Senior libero Kelley Hanson had a team-high 15 digs but was the victim of five Bakersfield aces.

Northridge, which was out-hit .333 (65-20-135) to .223 (59-26-148) in the match, claimed the first set after hitting .350 but could not duplicate that effort the rest of the way. The Matadors trailed for a good portion of the initial set after surrendering an early 3-2 lead. Bakersfield led by as many as three points, the final time at 18-15 after a Hanson service error. But the Matadors responded by taking four of the next five points to knot the score at 19-19 on a Grayson kill. A Kayla Williamson ace gave the Roadrunners a two-point cushion at 22-20 forcing Northridge into a timeout. But a Hupp kill, a co-block from Tela Burnett and Val Kepler and a Hupp ace put the Matadors back in front at 23-22. Bakersfield managed to tie the score at 23-23 and 24-24 before back-to-back kills from Kepler and Hupp gave Northridge the first set 26-24.

The second set saw the Matadors jump out to a 6-2 lead on a Grayson ace and Northridge also led by four at 7-3 before the Roadrunners began to cut into the lead. A 4-0 run pulled Bakersfield even at 7-7 but a 3-0 Northridge run put the Matadors back up 10-7. Back came the Roadrunners who got three kills from Sarah Norman over the next five points to pull even again at 11-11. Grayson was then blocked by Lauren Shacklock and a Alysia Baker ace gave Bakersfield a 13-11 lead and the Roadrunners would not trail again. A Sam Orlandini kill tied the score at 14-14 but an ensuing 6-0 Roadrunner run proved to be decisive as Bakersfield took the second set 25-20.

The Matadors trailed early in the third set before back-to-back Williams kills put Northridge in front 3-2. Williams then blocked Barbie Thistle propelling the Matadors on a 3-0 run opening up a 6-2 Northridge lead. Bakersfield battled back to tie the score at 11-11 and 12-12 but a Hupp kill and an Orlandini-Kepler block gave the Matadors a 14-12 lead and Northridge never looked back. The Roadrunners pulled within two four times down the stretch but the Matadors were able to hold on 25-21 after a Kepler kill ended the set.

Northridge could not sustain the momentum entering the fourth set as the Matadors quickly fell behind 5-1 and eventually 8-2 after Williams' attack went wide. Northridge battled to keep the set close but after the Matadors closed to 13-10, Bakersfield scored five straight points to take an insurmountable 18-10 lead. The Roadrunners then cruised to the 25-17 win after a Rosemary Stribling putaway on set point.

After the Matadors scored the first point of the fifth set, Norman answered with a kill and then stepped to the service line and delivered three straight points and Bakersfield had a 4-1 lead. Northridge pulled within two at 4-2 after a Puneet Pataria kill and also trailed by two at 6-4, 7-5 and 8-6 before a Stribling kill followed by a pair of kills from Baker put the Roadrunners in front to stay at 11-6. Another Pataria kill pulled the Matadors within four at 11-7 but Bakersfield claimed four of the next five points to seal the match 15-8.

Norman had a match-high 21 kills (.529) to lead the Roadrunners who also received 14 kills apiece from Stribling and Warner and 11 from Baker. Stribling hit a match-high .632 in the win and libero Mystie McNaughton tallied a match-high 24 digs.

Cal State Northridge returns to Big West action this weekend as the Matadors travel to UC Irvine on Friday followed by a trip to UC Riverside on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve.

- GO MATADORS -