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Bakersfield's Natty Burns sets up to bump the ball during Friday's beach volleyball match against Santa Barbara City College.
Bakersfield's Natty Burns jumps up to spike a ball over the net to her Santa Barbara City College opponents during a matchup Friday morning.
Bakersfield College's Kami Marion spikes a ball over the net toward Santa Barbara City College's Karoline Ruiz, preparing to block the ball.
Bakersfield College's Natty Burns bumps the ball as teammate Kami Marion prepares to take the next hit during Friday's match against Santa Barbara City College.
Bakersfield College's Kami Marion leaps into the air as she tips the ball over the net to her Santa Barbara City College opponents Friday morning.
Bakersfield College's Emily Flores puts her body on the line as she dives for the ball during a matchup Friday morning against Santa Barbara City College.
Rennah Sullivan from Bakersfield College works to get the ball over the net during a matchup against Santa Barbara City College on Friday morning.
Bakersfield College's Rennah Sullivan bumps the ball as her teammate Emily Flores stays alert during a matchup Friday morning against Santa Barbara City College.
Bakersfield College's Kami Marion goes airborne as she prepares to spike a ball over the net Friday morning to her Santa Barbara City College opponents.
Bakersfield's Natty Burns reaches in an attempt to keep the ball in play during Friday morning's matchup against Santa Barbara City College.
Bakersfield College's Kami Marion bumps the ball as her teammate Natty Burns stays alert as they prepare to return the ball to their Santa Barbara City College opponents Friday morning.
The temperature barely crept over 50 degrees, an enormous pool of stagnant rainwater sat adjacent to one of the three courts and Bakersfield College staff were hard at work cleaning up that same court with buckets of fresh sand prior to the match.
Friday morning presented far from the prototypical conditions for beach volleyball in Bakersfield, yet it was beach volleyball in Bakersfield all the same, as BC played at home for the first time since April 19, 2019.
"It's been tough for our student-athletes to be traveling for the last few years," BC coach Carl Ferreira said, "so just to be here is fantastic. Happy for our fans, happy for our athletes, just to be able to host here in Bakersfield."
Not to mention, he added, "I didn't have to get up at 4 today."
The Renegades still got off to an early start — they faced off against Santa Barbara at 9 a.m., opening a full day of action that also featured teams from Moorpark, Ventura and Santa Monica, with the Corsairs taking on BC at 2 p.m.
All of it occurred at the Barnes Beach Volleyball Complex at Cal State Bakersfield. Last season, BC "hosted" its lone "home" matchday in Ventura.
"Cal State Bakersfield coaches are phenomenal," Ferreira said, "in the cooperation that we have in terms of … they help us manicure the facility and get everything ready."
Santa Barbara entered Bakersfield with a 10-1 record, while BC was still looking for its first win of the year. The disparity between the teams was clear as the Vaqueros took a 5-0 win with five two-set sweeps.
"For some of these players, they've never, ever played beach volleyball before," said Ferreira, who also coaches BC's indoor team. "It's like their first time ever. You got to learn about the game, you got to learn how to execute the game, and a lot of things we're doing (are) really, really, really good. It's just some of these teams are a little bit better, a little more experienced than we are."
The closest match was contested at No. 2, where BC's Natty Burns and Kami Marion traded points in the first set up until 6-6, before Santa Barbara's Emma Crabbe (a member of last year's state-championship-winning pair) and Karolina Ruiz scored 14 of the next 17 points and won 21-10. They then channeled their momentum into a 21-8 second-set victory.
The sophomore Marion has been working her way back from the injury that ended her indoor season.
"Her best days are all ahead of her, so she'll get there," Ferreira said.
In the day's first set of matches, the No. 1 pairing of Aubree Dees and Kya Jones started strong but fell 21-11, 21-11 to Jacelin McKee and Olivia Medina. Monet Panther and Tori Robertson lost 21-7, 21-9 to Piper Ellbogn-Pettersen and Cori Tommeraason at No. 3 despite some second-set improvement, and Haley Tedrow and Samantha Villanueva couldn't keep up with Gabby Russell and Sophie Ward in a 21-11, 21-4 defeat at No. 5.
The Vaqueros already had the overall win wrapped up by then, but took home the additional victories at No. 2 and at No. 4, where BC's Emily Flores and Rennah Sullivan — the lone players not on this year's indoor roster — lost 21-10, 21-7 to Paige Rudi and Irey Sandholt.
The Renegades will be back on the road next weekend to face Moorpark and Ventura in Santa Barbara.
"What we're looking for is just growth," Ferreira said.
Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.
