Tuesday, Oct. 2
@ Cal State Monterey Bay
(8-6, 2-4 CCAA)
“The Kelp Den”
7 p.m.
Live Stats

Hayward, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay volleyball team hits the road again for a midweek match at Cal State Monterey Bay on Tuesday night. The Pioneers are coming off a 1-1 weekend home stand, capped off by their most one-sided victory of the season over Humboldt State. Now with that first conference win under their belts, the Pioneers (6-7, 1-5 CCAA) will look to establish a winning streak during a tough, three-match week. Tuesday's match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the Otter Sports Center.

Several players turned in impressive performances for Cal State East Bay over the weekend. Playing on the opposite side, Junior Suzy Ni Xu was extremely efficient offensively, leading the team with 27 kills and hitting .365 for the two matches. Senior Nicole Boyle posted 26 kills, 30 digs, five service aces, and four blocks, and was instrumental in the win over Humboldt State. Boyle totaled just five kills on Saturday, but played a key role defensively and served the Pioneers to 18 consecutive points in the third set.

Sophomore middle blocker Samantha Bruno led the team with 10 kills on Saturday. For the weekend, she put up 18 kills, six total blocks, and a .394 attack percentage. It was also a solid two matches for the Pioneer setters. Junior Samantha Siebert totaled 55 assists to go with 22 digs, while senior Danielle Stewart added 33 assists and 21 digs. Junior Hannah Bell contributed 17 kills and 18 digs, as well. Sophomore libero Veronica Sanchez had a breakout weekend with 50 digs in the two matches. In the first three weeks of CCAA play, Sanchez leads the conference with 5.09 digs per set.

Cal State Monterey Bay (8-6, 2-4 CCAA) is coming off two wins over the weekend after opening conference play 0-4. The Otters defeated Humboldt State 3-1 on Friday and Cal Poly Pomona 3-0 on Saturday. As a team, they rank third in the conference in attack percentage and dig average. Sophomore Julia Ashen is the leading attacker for Cal State Monterey Bay, ranking second in the CCAA in kill average (4.08) and third in points per set (4.3). Freshman Janai Johnson is a presence in the middle for the Otters. She's third in the conference with a .338 attack percentage and seventh with a 0.90 block average. Sophomore setter Kelsey Johnson averages 9.10 assists per set, good for fifth in the CCAA.

In 2011, the Pioneers split their two matches with the Otters. In fact, in each of the three seasons since joining the conference, Cal State East Bay has defeated Cal State Monterey Bay in Hayward and lost in Seaside. The Pioneers will attempt to buck that trend Tuesday night.