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Site: Radford, Va.  |  Dedmon Center
Series: First meeting
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Live Stats: Link
Twitter: @RadfordVB  |  @RUGameDay
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RADFORD, Va. – After going 2-1 in its season-opening Highlander Invitational, Radford gets a rare opportunity to host a west coast school when CSU Bakersfield visits the Dedmon Center Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. nonconference volleyball match.
 
THE SERIES
RU and the Roadrunners will meet on the volleyball court for the first time Wednesday night. In fact, this will only be the Highlanders' fourth encounter with a current Western Athletic Conference (WAC) volleyball program. Radford played Chicago State in 2010 and 2011, sweeping both matches, before dropping a 3-2 decision to Kansas City in 2011.
 
RACING WITH THE ROADRUNNERS
Bakersfield is in the middle of its seven-match east coast swing to open its season. The 'Runners competed in the Wildcat Classic hosted by Davidson over the weekend, closing with a 2-1 mark. Their record is the squad's best start to the season since 2005, and their season-opening win over Charlotte was the program's first since making the jump to Division I in 2007. Bakersfield is in its first year as a member of the WAC and was predicted to finish fifth in the conference's preseason coaches' poll.
 
Debora Araujo slammed down 54 kills over the weekend en route to posting two double-doubles. Her 4.5 kills per set lead the squad. Mariah Alvidrez tops the defensive efforts for CSUB with 62 digs for a 5.17 average per set.
 
HITTING WITH THE HIGHLANDERS
Radford had a successful opening weekend to its 2013 campaign, including a new program-best team attack percentage. In its season opener with the Aggies, the Highlanders hit .471, which eclipsed the previous-best rate of .465 in 2011 against the same program. RU bounced back from a 3-2 setback to Eastern Kentucky by defeating Kennesaw State, 3-1, in the tournament finale.
 
All-tournament honorees Cheyanne James and Rachel Wiechecki were phenomenal in their first matches of the season. James attacked at a blistering .463, unleashing 36 kills. Not to be outdone, Wiechecki roped a team-best 39 kills and had a team-best 32 digs. The junior from Wilmington, Del. notched her 18th career double-double against KSU.
 
Jena Braden heads the assist department with 83 helpers in three matches. Emma Deininger has a team-high 15 block assists.
 
The Highlanders hit .295 over the weekend, which ranks second in the Big South. Their 143 kills rank fourth. Defensively, Radford tops the league in blocking with 29.5 total blocks to its credit.
 
ROOKIE REWARD
Behind her 2.6 kills per set, which were the highest total by a Big South freshman during the opening weekend, Jordan Watson was selected the Crons Brand Freshman of the Week.
 
Playing in 10 sets, the Pilot, Va. native cranked 26 kills, had seven digs and 10 blocks over her three matches. After spiking three kills, notching two digs and assisting on a block in the season-opening sweep of N.C. A&T, Watson shook off the freshman jitters to have a sensational second day at the Highlander Invitational.
 
The outside hitter totaled eight kills, four digs and four block assists in a 3-2 setback to Eastern Kentucky. She saved her best performance for the tournament finale against Kennesaw State. Watson blasted a season-high 15 kills at a .353 clip in addition to one dig and three blocks in the Highlanders' 3-1 triumph.
 
RECORD WATCH
A number of current Highlanders are making a mark on the program's record books. Wiechecki is only three kills away from tying Kate McHugh for 10th place on the all-time kills list at RU. The junior is already sixth in kills per set (2.65) and tied for eighth in aces (69). Braden is fifth all-time in the assists' category with 1,122.
 
Defensively, Deininger (208) and senior Jesse Miedema (153) are fifth and 10th, respectively, in total blocks. In addition, Deininger is fourth in block assists (185), while Miedema is seventh (143).
 
UP NEXT
On deck for the Highlanders is their first road trip of the season to Fairfax, Va. for George Mason's home tournament. In addition to the Patriots and RU, Coppin State, Temple and Princeton will also compete.
 
FOLLOWING THE HIGHLANDERS
Get the latest scoop on Radford volleyball through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In addition, live stats and live video are available for Wednesday's contest. For further updates throughout the match, follow @RUGameDay and @RadfordVB on Twitter.