CSUB braces for UCLA in volleyball home opener
| Wednesday, Sep 08 2010 10:44 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Sep 08 2010 10:44 PM
Cal State Bakersfield volleyball coach John Price picked a doozy of a home opener opponent when he put the 2010 schedule together.
Tonight the Roadrunners play host to Pac-10 power UCLA, currently the No. 13-ranked team in the country according to two polls.
"We've been playing really good teams," Price said, noting CSUB's 0-7 start to this season, with all of those matches either on the road or in out of town tournaments.
"Seven of our first 10 opponents are 31-8 right now," he added. "The three that were not part of that: One was Gonzaga -- we lost 15-13 in the fifth; the other team was Butler, which is 2-5, and I thought we had a great chance to win that game."
But early in the third game of that match, sophomore libero Lauren Holderman suffered a dislocated shoulder.
Holderman is awaiting an MRI to determine the extent of the injury, but the initial prognosis has her missing 3-5 weeks.
CSUB's high caliber opponents prior to tonight include New Mexico State, Louisville, Arizona and North Dakota.
UCLA's first-year coach Mike Sealy initially requested that this match be scheduled for UCLA, Price said.
"But on Friday we're going up to San Jose (for the San Jose State/Santa Clara Tournament), and there's no way we could play at UCLA on Thursday then be ready to play all the way up in San Jose on Friday," he said. "So he (Sealy) agreed to play us here. He's a friend, and that helps."
Playing strong opponents is helping the Roadrunners improve, Price said.
"We're making progress," he said. "I'm excited about this team. We'll see more progress the second half of the year if we can hang in there mentally."
CSUB's Lindy DeGeare leads the team with 73 kills (2.92 kills per set average), followed by Haleigh Haratyk (49, 2.23). Alysia Baker is third in kills (37, 1.48) and leads with 15 blocks. Holderman leads with 77 digs, followed by Haratyk's 59.
Price said Allison Cote and Lindsay Toone are going to be splitting time at libero until Holderman returns.
UCLA is 5-1, with the only loss in four games at Hawaii on Aug. 29.
High school students with ID can get into tonight's match for $2.
