Short On Stature and Experience, But Long On Heart

After watching the gritty performance of the Roadrunner volleyball team at the Fresno State Invitational last weekend, I'm feeling a bit sorry for all of the Roadrunner fans who will have to wait until Sept. 30 to see their team open at home against Big West Conference rival Cal State Northridge.

To be certain, the 2009 Roadrunners possess a wealth of raw talent. But they are among the smallest and least experienced teams in NCAA Division I volleyball this season. Eight of CSUB's 12 players are either freshmen or sophomores. A ninth, defensive specialist Allison Cote, is seeing her first real action at the collegiate level. As if that wasn't enough inexperience, junior Lindsay Toone saw her first NCAA action as an outside hitter last weekend.

Despite the inexperience--or, perhaps, because of it--they played with a rare passion in Fresno. That alone kept them in competitive matches against bigger and more seasoned Fresno State and University of the Pacific teams that, on paper, should have easily swept them aside. So it was especially gratifying to see their effort rewarded in their final match when they came from two sets down to upend the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in five sets. It marked the first time CSUB has come from 2-0 down to win at the NCAA Division I level.

In a microcosm of the match and the weekend, Toone made a receiving error at 24-24 in the fourth set that gave Green Bay match point. But instead of folding, she bounced back with a huge kill on her very next swing to bring the Roadrunners from behind and point the way to ultimate victory.

CSUB continues its marathon 32-day trip to open the 2009 season at the Sacramento State Invitational Friday and Saturday. They'll jump out of the frying pan and into the fire, facing a Sacramento State team that has won 10 of the last 11 Big Sky Conference championships; a Santa Clara team ranked 25th nationally in the first NCAA Division I poll of the season; and former Division II and CCAA rival UC Riverside.

This team is so young that a few bumps and bruises early in the season are almost inevitable. But if we've learned anything so far, it's that the 2009 edition of Roadrunner Volleyball plays hard and is fun to watch. If you can't make it on the road to see the Roadrunners play in person in September, be sure to follow them on GoRunners.com, Facebook and Twitter (CSUB Athletics) as they take the long way home to the Icardo Center for their Sept. 30 opener.