Friday, Nov. 11
at No. 15 UC San Diego
(19-5, 15-5 CCAA)
RIMAC Arena - La Jolla
7 p.m.
Live stats
Saturday, Nov. 12
at No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino
(25-0, 20-0 CCAA)
Coussoliss Arena - San Bernardino
7 p.m.
Live stats
HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay volleyball team hits the road for its final regular season road trip this weekend and is set for a tough test as it travels south to take on No. 15 UC San Diego and No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino to close out the season. The Pioneers (16-9, 11-9 CCAA) will look to avenge two losses to the Tritons and Coyotes earlier this season, in addition to keeping their playoff hopes alive, as they enter the weekend just one game back of fourth place in the CCAA.
East Bay is coming off back-to-back weekend sweeps that saw it topple Chico State, Cal State Stanislaus, San Francisco State and Cal Poly Pomona. Though the Pioneers dropped a four-set match to Cal State Monterey Bay between those two weekend sweeps, they sit just a game back of the Wildcats in the conference standings. In each of the last six seasons, at least four conference squads have reached the NCAA West Regional.
The final weekend will present plenty of challenges to an East Bay team looking to secure a playoff spot, as both the Tritons and Coyotes sit in the top three in the CCAA standings and are ranked in the national top 25. As a testament to CSUSB's top ranking, the Coyotes handed UCSD the season sweep, beating the Tritons handily in three sets on Thursday night.
The Pioneers are set to bring their best to the table this weekend, especially after taking UCSD to five sets in a close 3-2 loss at home earlier this year. Junior middle blocker
Kitona Offord leads the team, ranking third in the CCAA with her .368 hitting percentage and pacing the offense with 2.82 kills per set. Offord's impressive hitting percentage also ranks among the top 25 in all of Division II. Meanwhile,
Katie Allen is second on the team with 2.6 kills per set and leads the league in aces per set at 0.44.
Defensively, senior libero
Leslie Ray ranks 21st in Division II in digs per set with 5.39. Her average also leads the CCAA. Ray also leads the team in serve reception attempts and has just 33 errors in 619 chances in the back row. Meanwhile, freshman middle blocker
Samantha Bruno ranks sixth in the conference in blocks per set and leads the team with 59 solo blocks.
The 13th-ranked Tritons are coming off a sweep by the Coyotes but prior to that, UCSD had won nine consecutive matches. Hillary Williamson paces UC San Diego with 3.72 kills per set, which rank third in the conference. Libero Janessa Werhane sits just behind
Leslie Ray, averaging 5.19 digs per set and Lauren Demos is fifth in the CCAA in blocks per set. In their first meeting with the Pioneers this season, the Tritons eked out a 3-2 victory, coming back from down two sets to take the final three, including a 15-13 fifth-set win.
Top-ranked Cal State San Bernardino enters its Friday match against Cal State Monterey Bay with an undefeated record and 25 straight wins. The Coyotes have dropped just five sets this season, including one to the Pioneers in a 3-1 win at Pioneer Gym on Oct. 7. CSUSB hasn't lost a set since Oct. 14 and is one of just two teams in Division II with a perfect record. The Coyotes lead the conference in all but one statistical category, while senior middle blocker and 2010 AVCA Division II Player of the Year Samantha Middleborn is second in the nation in hitting percentage, fourth in blocks and 13th in points per set.
