Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Sunbirds Confirm No. 1 Ranking With Sweep Of Bakersfield

by Kevin Gilmore

Box score

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific University volleyball team proved why it very well may be the top small college program in the nation this season, dispatching NCAA Division II contender Cal State Bakersfield 30–14, 30–20, 30–22 Tuesday night at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield.

FPU, ranked No. 1 in the nation in NAIA play, improved to 17–0 with the win. Bakersfield fell to 12–5 with the loss.

Fresno’s international contingent led the way again Tuesday night, with Brazilian Thais Julio collecting a match–high 12 kills and Columbian Lorena Zuleta adding 11. The best player on the floor, however, was freshman setter Shu Liu from China, who added six kills on just nine swings to a match–high 37 assists.

Junior outside hitter Jodi Hardin led Bakersfield with nine kills and nine digs. Morgan Reed and Lindsay Kramer each had six kills for the Roadrunners.

The Roadrunners became the first and only team to score more than 20 points in every game against FPU when they fell to the Sunbirds in Fresno last week. Perhaps inspired not to let history repeat itself, Fresno elevated its game Tuesday and never let Bakersfield into the match.

The Sunbirds jumped to big leads early in all three games and were never seriously threatened. Although Bakersfield settled down and played fairly even with Fresno for stretches of game three, most of the Roadrunner scoring in the match was predicated on too rare breakdowns by the Sunbirds.

It will be out of frying pan and into the fire for the Roadrunners this weekend when they host another pair of national contenders. They take on No. 13 ranked UC San Diego Friday night and No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino Saturday.

Fresno continues its trip south with a match at San Diego Christian in El Cajon Friday night.

Live Audio webcast from Bakersfield

Radio
This match will be broadcast by KXEX Sporting News Radio AM 1550. Robert Langpaap calls the action, beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Updated Records
CSU Bakersfield : 12-5
Fresno Pacific: 17-0 (NAIA #1)

Updated Series Record
Overall - Roadrunners lead 18-13
Streak - FPU has now won nine of the last ten contests, including a 30-27, 30-25, 30-21 sweep last Tuesday in Fresno... the Sunbirds have sweep the home-and-home series this season and last season.

Fresno Pacific University offers undergraduate and graduate programs that stress solid academic preparation and a strong ethical foundation. Each year more than 2,000 traditional and adult students attend classes on the 42-acre main campus in southeast Fresno or centers in Visalia and Bakersfield. The university also reaches 12,000 students across the nation and around the world through professional development studies programs. The only four-year Christian university in the Central Valley, FPU is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and ranked in the top quarter among Western universities master's category by U.S. News & World Report.