Cal State East Bay (4-3, 1-1 CCAA) at Chico State (3-3, 1-1 CCAA)Friday, Sept. 19 • 7 p.m.
Acker Gymnasium • Chico, Calif.
Live StatsCal State East Bay at Cal State Stanislaus (0-6, 0-2 CCAA)Saturday, Sept. 20 • 7 p.m.
Fitzpatrick Arena • Turlock, Calif.
Live Video •
Live Stats HAYWARD, Calif. -- After beginning the 2014 season with seven straight home matches, the Cal State East Bay volleyball team hits the road this weekend for the first time. The Pioneers will become familiar with Highway 99 as they travel to Chico State on Friday night, and then to Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday night, with both matches slated for 7 p.m.
WEEKLY RECAPEast Bay showed flashes of excellence in the first weekend of CCAA play and very nearly came away with a home sweep. Last Friday, they hosted No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino, the defending conference champions. The Pioneers stunned the Coyotes by winning the first two sets. After San Bernardino rallied to win game three, the home team played a strong fourth set and had a chance to win with the score tied 22-22. But CSUSB won the final three points to extend the match, and then ran away with game five, as East Bay came up short despite 20 kills and 16 digs from senior
Amber Hall.
CSUEB managed to put the loss behind them and played extremely impressively the following night against a talented Humboldt State team. After the Jacks came out and won the first set, the Pioneers buckled down and controlled the match from there. They began the second set on a 16-3 run and cruised to a 25-10 win to even the match. The home team then captured the next two sets to claim the victory as junior
Angie Maina matched a career high with 21 digs.
Freshman
Kiani Rayford had her most impactful performance of the season, posting 11 kills and three total blocks. The Pioneers improved their record against Humboldt State to 8-1 since joining the conference in 2010.
PIONEER POINTSEast Bay is hitting .203 for the season, which ranks sixth in the conference. They're also second among CCAA teams averaging 1.50 service aces per set. That figure is thanks in large part to senior
Ashia Joseph. In addition to ranking second on the team with 2.72 digs per set and eighth in the CCAA with 8.12 assists per set, Joseph is second in the conference in aces at 0.52 per set.
Hall led the team wwith 34 kills and 28 kills over the weekend. She's currently the seventh-leading scorer in the CCAA at 3.44 kills per set and has posted an impressive .240 hitting percentage as the Pioneers' primary attacker. Fellow senior
Samantha Bruno is the only other Pioneer averaging more than two kills per frame, and she's 17th in the conference at 2.61.
Current CCAA StandingsCCAA Statistical LeadersHISTORY TRACKERBruno leads all active Pioneers with 541 career kills, which ranks her just outside the program's top-10 all-time. After a season-high seven total blocks against San Bernardino, she's up to 238 career blocks, second-most in school history and just nine away from the program record. Joseph moved up to eighth place in program history with 1,273 career assists, and she currently trails seventh by just 103.
Veronica Sanchez has recorded 1,140 digs in her East Bay career, which ranks her second all-time.SCOUTING THE WILDCATSChico State split a pair of tough road matches last weekend, winning 3-2 at Cal Poly Pomona and losing 3-1 at No. 14 UC San Diego. They're currently second in the CCAA in kills and digs per set. The Wildcats also lead the league in assists, thanks to sophomore Tiffany Thompson, who's first in the CCAA at 11.05 assists per set. They have four players averaging beter than two kills per set, led by junior Shannon Boling (3.53 kills/set, .239 pct.) and senior Lindsay Quigley (2.95 kills/set, .329 pct.). The Pioneers are 3-5 against the Wildcats since joining the CCAA and haven't won in Chico since 2010.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORSCal State Stanislaus is still loooking for its first win after losing 3-1 at No. 14 UC San Diego and 3-0 at Cal Poly Pomona last weekend. They're currently last in the CCAA in points per set and second-to-last in attack percentage (.139). The Warriors have only won two sets this season so far, but they have played six strong opponents. Sophomore Blair Ehrlich has been a bright spot, leading the team with 2.90 kills per set. East Bay is 4-4 against Stanislaus since joining the conference, but they have been defeated in Turlock each of the last two seasons.
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