The CSU Bakersfield volleyball team will be home at the Icardo Center for an action-packed weekend with a match against Boise State on Saturday at 7 p.m. and then a showdown against Bucknell on Sunday at 5 p.m.

CSUB will be taking on Boise State (8-10, 1-3 Mountain West Conference) for the first time in program history. CSUB has faced Bucknell (6-12, 0-5 Patriot League) once before in its history, beating the Bison 3-0 in 2008. hile the 'Runners had the week off to prepare for the Broncos and Bison, Boise State lost to New Mexico 3-2 on Thursday and Bucknell fell to Colgate 3-1 on Thursday as well.

"This has been an exciting week at practice leading up to our match against Boise State," said CSUB head coach Jolene Shepardson. "Our teams are very similar, so each point is going to be a battle. Both teams feature a fast, well-balanced offense."

The 'Runners enter the game with a 7-9 record, one win away from matching their win total of eight from last season when they went 8-18 in the sixth most-improved season in NCAA Division I volleyball. The program also showed other signs of being headed in the right direction this week as CSUB significantly improved its RPI from 280 to 168 in the lastest RPI calculations released by the NCAA this week.

The 'Runners have been hard to beat at home this season, as they are 4-1 on the blue court at the Icardo Center. This season, CSUB has been lead by  Debora Araujo (Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Western Nebraska C.C.), who has recorded a team-high 251 kills and 16 service aces, while also adding 126 digs and 41 blocks.

~www.GoRunners.com~