HAYWARD, Calif. -- The season-opening road trip continues this weekend for the Cal State East Bay volleyball team as the Pioneers travel to Southern California to wrap up their non-conference schedule in another tournament setting.

The third annual D2 West Region Crossover Showcase pits CSUEB against four opponents over the course of two days at Concordia University Arena. On Friday, the Pioneers battle a pair of Pacific West Conference (PacWest) squads in Notre Dame de Namur and the host Eagles. Saturday they meet two Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) teams in Alaska Anchorage and Central Washington 

MOVING UP THE PODS
This marks the third year of the West Region Crossover Showcase, with the three conferences taking turns providing the host sites. It is structured in six pods, which are seeded based on standings from last season. The top two teams from each conference make up one pod, the third and fourth place teams from each conference make up another pod, and so on. In its first iteration, CSUEB was coming off a 6-22 season and hosted the No. 6 pod with all the lowest-finishing teams. After reaching the CCAA postseason in 2016, the Pioneers made the No. 4 pod last season, which was hosted by Western Oregon. East Bay was even better in 2017, and after reaching the CCAA semifinals, they qualified for the No. 2 pod this time around. It is an impressive climb, but it also means the Pioneers will now have to battle some of the best teams in the Region. 

WEEK ONE RECAP
For the first time since 2011, CSUEB didn't host a season-opening tournament, opting instead to take on an extremely tough slate of opponents at the Colorado Mines Oredigger Classic. The Pioneers picked up a win over Lee University, before dropping three straight to No. 19 Mines, No. 11 Palm Beach Atlantic, and Sioux Falls, which plays in the best volleyball conference in the nation. While they weren't the results the Pioneers were hoping for, the team nonetheless challenged itself impressively by traveling to high altitude and playing some of the nation's top competition. 

Despite some struggles in serve-receive, the opening weekend had promising results for the veteran East Bay squad statistically, which hit .231 and out-blocked its opponents 34 to 23 overall. Lindsey Ray turned in an impressive effort to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team, averaging 3.56 kills and 2.75 digs per set with a .281 hitting percentage and 10 total blocks. Kiki Leutekener matched her with 57 kills in the four matches, and both currently rank among the top 10 scorers in the CCAA. Leuteneker passed another person to move up to No. 3 on the program's all-time kill list, inching closer to 1,000 for her career. 

Deja Thompson was the team's third-leading scorer in Colorado with 2.06 kills/set, adding 10 blocks to bring her career total to 242. Kathy McKiernan tallied a team-high 14 total blocks last week, keeping her right on Thompson's heels with a career mark of 237. With a big performance by either of them in Irvine, Samantha Bruno's school record of 257 may not last the weekend.

Similarly, Katie Ireland entered the season needing 808 assists to become the program's all-time leader. She knocked out 171 in just two days, passing both Dani Morales and current CSUEB assistant coach Ashia Joseph on the career list to become the fifth Pioneer ever to record 2,000 career assists. 

WEEKEND OPPONENTS
Concordia hosted a tournament last weekend as well, posting a 1-3 record with a win over American International and losses to Cal State LA, Cal Poly Pomona, and Colorado Mesa. The Eagles hit just .122 as a team, averaging 9.62 kills and 8.54 assists per set. 

NDNU hosted four CCAA teams to open the season and went 1-3 with a .152 team hitting percentage, sweeping Humboldt State before falling to SF State, Chico State, and Stanislaus State. Rowan Jack (2.62 kills/set, 3.31 digs/set, 7 aces) was the Argos' top player.

Alaska Anchorage played three matches last weekend at home during the UAA Invitational, posting a perfect record. The Seawolves swept Western New Mexico, beat Barton College in four sets, and outlasted Michigan Tech in five.

Central Washington, which last year tied Anchorage for third place in the GNAC with 14-6 conference records, opened the 2018 season at home as well. They defeated Metro State and Fresno Pacific, then lost in straight sets to defending West Region champion Cal State San Bernardino. The Wildcats are hitting .181, led by Makala Swart (3.30 kills/set, 3.70 digs/set) and Shelby Mauritson (3.40 kills/set, 3.50 digs/set).