Tuesday, Nov. 13
vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (12-15, 6-13 CCAA)
Pioneer Gym
7 p.m.
Live Stats
HAYWARD, Calif. – There will be Tuesday volleyball in Hayward this week as Cal State East Bay (10-16, 5-14 CCAA) welcomes in Cal State Monterey Bay (12-15, 6-13 CCAA) to Pioneer Gym. With their 2012 road schedule complete, the Pioneers will close out their season with three tough home matches, starting with a midweek tilt against the Otters. With a win, East Bay can vault over CSUMB in the conference standings heading into the final weekend.
WEEKEND RECAP
The Pioneers are coming off a tough road trip in which they dropped matches at Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus. Losing to the Warriors was a particularly tough pill to swallow, as the Pioneers erased an 0-2 deficit and forced a fifth set before losing in extra points, 18-16. East Bay ended up going 0-2 against both Chico and Stanislaus this year, a fate they will try to avoid as they aim for a series split against Cal State Monterey Bay.
Suzy Ni Xu had a huge weekend for the Pioneers, leading the team with 37 kills and a .346 hitting percentage in the two matches.
Nikki Long posted 19 kills, and
Nicole Boyle added 17 kills to go along with 39 digs.
Jade Sanford added 16 kills and a team-leading seven blocks, while libero
Veronica Sanchez totaled 55 digs and 12 assists. Sanchez continues to lead the CCAA in conference dig average in her first season as a starter. Setters
Danielle Stewart and
Samantha Siebert both notched two double-doubles on the weekend, and Stewart added 9 total kills. They each racked up 41 assists, while Stewart added 27 digs and Siebert posted 24.
OUTLOOK ON THE OTTERS
Cal State Monterey Bay is riding a four-match losing streak into Tuesday's contest, having also been swept over the weekend by Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus. As a team, they rank second in the CCAA in dig average and sixth in hitting percentage. The Otters are led by Julia Ashen, the second-leading scorer in the conference with 3.94 kills per set. She's the only Otter to average better than two kills and two digs. Middle blocker Janai Johnson is the team's third-leading scorer and ranks top-10 in the CCAA in hitting percentage. Setter Kelsey Johnston is fifth in the conference with a 9.54 assist average. CSUMB defeated the Pioneers in three sets earlier in the year.
