Williamson digs way into CSUB record books
| Saturday, Nov 21 2009 11:28 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Nov 21 2009 11:28 PM
A season of ups and downs finished on a high note for an inexperienced Cal State Bakersfield volleyball team.
The team's lone seniors, Kayla Williamson and Barbie Unfried, closed their playing careers with solid performances, and sophomore Lindy DeGeare slammed home a game-high 15 kills to lead the Roadrunners to a 25-18, 25-20, 25-21 victory over a hapless San Jose State squad Saturday at Icardo Center.
"It felt really good," Williamson said. "We all came out really ready and prepared to play. We didn't have to think about anything and just played our game. This was our game to win and we had it."
Williamson, from Stockdale High, finished with a team-high 16 digs, giving her a CSUB record 664 for the season., eclipsing the 654 Mystie McNaughton recorded last season.
"I'm still a little in shock that his been five years and that I'm done and gotten where I have as far as performance wise," said Williamson, who red-shirted in 2005. "I think it's going to hit me a little later in the season when I'm ready to come back and start up. But right now I feel really good and happy with the way the season ended. I'm going to miss my team a lot."
Unfried, who played her first two seasons at Fairfield College after graduating from BHS, also moved her name higher in the 'Runners' record book with 33 assists. She finished her two-year career at CSUB with 2,454 assists, the fifth highest total in school history.
It was all part of an impressive season finale for CSUB (14-17).
With a variety of underclassmen receiving heavy minutes, including freshman Morgan Pettway, Kelsey Mills and Stockdale High product Lauren Holderman, the Roadrunners scored the first five points of the match and did just enough to counter a Spartans team with just one victory in 27 matches this season.
"Considering how young we were, honestly if you would have set coming in that we would have finished close to .500 I would have been happy with that," CSUB coach John Price said. "It's a little frustrating because I think we've had some opportunities down the stretch that we could have got that we didn't get. But as a picture as a whole, I thought we had a great year."
DeGeare, also from Stockdale High, made just three errors in the first two games, scoring a variety of power shots. She had six kills in the opening set and then added seven in Game 2, finishing off set point with a spike to center court.
Pettway also had a strong match with eight kills and a block, while Alysia Baker, Lindsay Toone and Unfried added six kills apiece.
"I was scared to death," said Price, referring to playing a 1-26 team with nothing to lose. "I knew they'd play hard and I wasn't so sure we would. But I felt like we played hard once the match started and we took care of business as we should have."
