Friday, Oct. 12
@ Cal State San Bernardino (10-6, 7-1 CCAA)
Coussoulis Arena
7 p.m.
Live Stats

Saturday, Oct. 13
@ UC San Diego (11-5, 6-2 CCAA)
RIMAC Arena
7 p.m.
Live Stats
Live Video

HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay volleyball team (6-10, 1-8 CCAA) hits the road this weekend for its second Southern California road trip of the year. On their last trip, the Pioneers dropped matches at Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez Hills. This time around, the competition will be even tougher as the Pioneers face perhaps their most difficult weekend of the season. East Bay will visit Cal State San Bernardino (10-6, 7-1 CCAA) on Friday night and UC San Diego (11-5,   6-2 CCAA) on Saturday, with both matches set for 7 p.m.

The Pioneers enter the weekend hoping to snap a three-match losing streak. They lost at Cal State Monterey Bay last Tuesday, and then failed to capture a victory at home last weekend, despite winning the first set of both matches. They fell on Friday night to Cal State Stanislaus in a heart-breaking five-set marathon. The Pioneers took a 2-0 lead and played one of their better offensive matches overall, but were unable to close it out. The next night, East Bay was out-hit .252 to .129 and couldn't contain the Chico State attackers, ultimately losing in four sets. If the Pioneers intend to start a much-needed winning streak, they'll have to do it against two of the top three teams in the CCAA, starting with the defending champion Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes. 

TOP PERFORMERS

In the absence of three upperclassmen from last year's regular rotation that were lost to injuries (including the team's leading attacker), several Pioneers have stepped in with impressive performances. Junior outside hitter Hannah Bell had a big week for the Pioneers, leading the team with 28 kills and ranking second with 39 digs in the three matches. Bell has been one of East Bay's top attackers and defenders in her first year. For the season, she's third on the team in kills, attempts, and digs, second in aces, and fourth in blocks. Junior opposite Suzy Ni Xu was the Pioneers' second-leading scorer last week, with 23 kills. Xu is the team's top attacker this year, pacing the squad in kill average (2.87), attempts (481), and hitting percentage (.216).

Senior outside hitter Nikki Long has come on lately, posting 20 kills last week and ranking as the team's fourth-leading scorer. Sophomore middle blocker Samantha Bruno has continued her development on both sides of the net. Despite just five blocks last week, Bruno leads the Pioneers with 0.83 blocks per set, while also averaging 1.28 kills. In addition, Cal State East Bay has settled into a pretty consistent rotation with its setters. In last week's matches, junior Samantha Siebert posted 65 assists, and senior Danielle Stewart added 44. For the season, the pair averages 7.10 and 4.33 per set, respectively, and have combined for 99 digs and 24 kills with just seven attack errors.

LEADERBOARD WATCH

Senior outside hitter Nicole Boyle has been the Pioneers' most consistent player in 2012, but her excellence is perhaps most apparent behind the service line. After scoring seven aces without an error last week, Boyle now ranks second in the CCAA with 0.46 aces per set in conference matches.

She has been a jack-of-all-trades for the Pioneers, ranking second on the team in kill average (2.53), attempts (453), and dig average (3.25). Sophomore libero Veronica Sanchez has also been productive in her first season as a starter. She racked up 46 digs in last week's matches, and her season dig average of 4.79 in conference matches is good for second in the CCAA.

SCOUTING SAN BERNARDINO

Cal State San Bernardino, the defending CCAA Champions, played a tough non-conference schedule, and then turned it on in conference play, currently sitting in first place. The Coyotes enter the week on a seven-match winning streak, having defeated San Francisco State and Sonoma State on the road last weekend. As a team, they lead the CCAA with a .256 attack percentage in conference matches, and they have five players who average better than two kills per set. Senior setter Camille Smith ranks second in the conference with 10.30 assists per set, and last week was named CCAA Player of the Week. Senior middle blocker Mercedes Winchester leads the conference with a .453 attack percentage, and the Coyotes have two of the CCAA's top three blockers in Brenna McIntosh and Alexandra Torline. The Pioneers possess an all-time record of 2-8 against Cal State San Bernardino and have lost their last three matches. Friday will prove a tough test for East Bay, as the Coyotes have posted a 69-2 record at home in the last five years.

TRACKING THE TRITONS

A young, talented team that features mostly underclassmen, UC San Diego enters the weekend in third place in the CCAA at 6-2. The Tritons lost in three sets at San Francisco State on Saturday to snap a six-match winning streak. As a team, UCSD ranks second in the CCAA in hitting percentage (.227) and third in block average (2.17). They also lead the conference in attendance, so the Pioneers can expect a hostile crowd Saturday night. The Tritons have four players averaging better than two kills per set and six players averaging more than two digs per set. Freshman Danielle Dahle is the Tritons' leading attacker, ranking third in the CCAA in kills per set in conference matches. Dahle was named CCAA Player of the Week earlier this month. Sophomore middle blocker Sara McCutchan averages 2.51 kills for UCSD and ranks in the CCAA's top-10 in both attack percentage (.299) and block average (1.03). Sophomore setter Amber Hawthorne averages 8.93 assists per set, good for sixth in the conference. The Pioneers are 2-11 all-time versus the Tritons and have lost their last three matches.