Friday, Oct. 21
at #24 Sonoma State
(16-3, 13-1 CCAA)
The Wolves' Den - Rohnert Park
7 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video

Saturday, Oct. 22
at Humboldt State
(6-12, 3-11 CCAA)
Lumberjack Arena - Arcata
7 p.m.
Live Stats


HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay volleyball team will close out a four-match road trip when it travels to Sonoma State and Humboldt State this weekend. The Pioneers (11-7, 6-7 CCAA) will look to post their first weekend sweep of the conference season after splitting with Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills last week. East Bay will meet the No. 24 Seawolves on Friday night at 7 p.m. before heading to Arcata to take on the Jacks on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Cal State East Bay is looking to get back on track after a four-set loss to the Golden Eagles on Oct. 15, its second loss of the season to Cal State LA. The Pioneers' win over Cal State Dominguez Hills last Friday is their only victory in the last four matches, which included contests against No. 3 Cal State San Bernardino and No. 16 UC San Diego. East Bay finished the first half of the CCAA campaign with a 5-6 record and will be chasing a record over .500 in league play against the Seawolves and Jacks this weekend.

The Pioneers will rely on some of the CCAA's best weapons in the quest to knock off nationally ranked Sonoma State, which posted a tough 3-2 victory over Cal State East Bay at Pioneer Gym during the second week of the league campaign. Sophomore Katie Allen's 34 service aces are tops among conference players, while senior Leslie Ray has been a force on defense, leading the CCAA with an average of 5.44 digs per set. Meanwhile, Kitona Offord continues to be one of the most efficient hitters in the league, swinging at a .375 clip, trailing only 2010 AVCA Division II Player of the Year Samantha Middleborn in the category. Freshman Samantha Bruno is also making a name for herself among the league leaders with just over a block per set to rank fourth in the CCAA.

As a team, the Pioneers have also picked up their offensive and defensive output over the last few weeks. In four of the last six matches, East Bay has hit above .200 as a team, while posting five or more blocks in eight consecutive contests. Allen isn't the only Pioneer to be dropping in aces, either, as the team has notched at least five service aces in five of the last seven matches, including back-to-back matches with nine aces last weekend.

AMONG THE BEST
The Pioneers aren't only finding themselves among the leaders in the CCAA, but also in all of Division II. Leslie Ray's dig average ranks 19th in the division and is just 1.3 digs per set off the leader – Maggie Murphy of Mars Hill. Kitona Offord is also ranks in the top 25 in the nation in hitting percentage, coming in at 21st with her .375 clip for the year. Katie Allen is the only CCAA player ranked in the top 150 in aces per set at 49th, while Samantha Bruno's 1.03 blocks per set rank 50th in the nation. The team also ranks among the top 60 in Division II in assists and blocks per set, as well as hitting percentage.

SCOUTING SONOMA STATE
The 24th-ranked Seawolves are coming off a 3-0 sweep over Humboldt State on Wednesday night and come into Friday's meeting with East Bay just one game back of Cal State San Bernardino in the CCAA standings. Sonoma State is riding a six-match winning streak and is 16-3 overall and 13-1 in conference play. The Seawolves sit in the top three in the league in all but two statistical categories, leading the CCAA in aces per set and ranking second to the Coyotes in hitting percentage (.274) and kills per set (13.65). Sonoma State is also holding opponents to just a .135 hitting percentage. Allyson Sather is leading the team with 3.39 kills per set, while Keala Peterson sits just behind her at 3.36 putaways per set and Kelsey Hull is hitting at a .345 clip. The Seawolves are a well-balanced team with six players with least 15 service aces on the year, three (Sather, Hull, Peterson) averaging three or more kills per set and three averaging at least 0.7 blocks per set. The last time the Pioneers and Sonoma State met, the Seawolves came away with a 3-2 victory, led by double-digit kills from Hull, Sather and Peterson and 29 digs and three aces from Taylor Krenwinkel.

JUDGING THE JACKS
Humboldt State comes into the weekend with a 6-12 overall record and a 3-11 mark in CCAA play. The Jacks are coming off a home sweep by Sonoma State and have lost six of their last seven matches. Despite the tough run, HSU ranks second in the conference in blocks per set at 2.27 and third in digs with an average of 16.42 per set. The Jacks are led on the block by Allison Drobish who has notched nearly one solo block every match and is averaging 1.2 total blocks per set, ranking second in the CCAA. Oceana Matsubu is leading the HSU attack, putting away a league-leading 4.13 kills per set, while ranking second in points per set. Libero Brooke Ferguson's 4.52 digs per set are third in the CCAA. In the teams' first meeting this year, the Pioneers posted a 3-1 victory over the Jacks, led by three players with double-figure kills. Humboldt State hosts Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday night before taking on the Pioneers.