HAYWARD, Calif. -- After dropping three of its first four matches in conference play, the Cal State East Bay volleyball team will head up and down Highway 99 this weekend to continue the CCAA schedule against a pair of North Division rivals.

The Pioneers play road contests at Stanislaus State on Friday, followed by Chico State on Saturday, with both matches set for 7 p.m. Then after a two-day break, East Bay returns to Pioneer Gym next Tuesday for a re-match with the Warriors at 6 p.m. To celebrate that mid-week matchup, the Pioneers are partnering with Cal State East Bay ASI for "Pack the House" night with FREE food in the gym lobby, as well as opportunities for fans to win East Bay prizes and gift certificates to Bronco Billy's Pizza.

WEEKLY RECAP
The team's road trip to Southern California last weekend was unfortunately a forgettable one, as the Pioneers fell in four sets back-to-back nights. They hit just .115 in an uncharacteristically inefficient performance against a strong Cal State San Marcos squad last Friday. The following night, Lindsey Ray had a dominant effort with 18 kills, 12 digs, and a .359 hitting percentage at UC San Diego, but CSUEB's comeback attempt fell short as they were unable to erase an 0-2 deficit.

Over the two matches, Ray averaged 4.25 kills and 3.13 digs per set with a .250 attack percentage. She currently ranks as the sixth-leading attacker in the CCAA for the season.

As a team, the Pioneers rank in the top half of the league offensively in hitting percentage, kills, and assists. Their issue has been on the other side of the net, where they allowed the highest hitting percentage (.221) and most kills per set (13.80) of any team in the conference.

THE NORTH REMEMBERS
The Pioneers got off to a slow start in CCAA play with a 1-3 record, but fortunately it hasn't put them in a hole in the standings since all four of those matches were against South Division teams. Now East Bay readies to play nine straight contests against Northern foes, none of whom have made it through the first four weeks of the regular season unscathed. 

While the South had enjoyed a great deal of early success, boasting four teams with undefeated conference records, the North is much more tightly packed. All seven NorCal squads already have at least two CCAA losses, which means the Pioneers enter this weekend just one game behind the top spot in the division.

HISTORY WATCH
No career records are likely to be broken this week, but a few Pioneers are getting close. Most notably, Kiki Leuteneker needs eight kills to move into the No. 2 position on CSUEB's all-time list. Similarly, Katie Ireland needs 11 assists this weekend to climb to No. 2 on that list, and she's less than 100 digs away from becoming the first player in school history to surpass 2,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs. 

ABOUT STANISLAUS
The Warriors opened their CCAA schedule with losses to South stalwarts Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona, followed by a five-set loss at Chico State, before sweeping Cal State Monterey Bay for their first conference win last Friday. Stanislaus ranks third in the CCA with a .240 team attack percentage, led by Sierra Adams (4.41 kills/set, .347 pct) and Rachel Klopfer (3.32 kills/set, 2.78 digs/set). The Pioneers won both meetings between the two teams in 2017.

ABOUT CHICO
The Wildcats were strong in non-conference play in August, then got swept on back-to-back nights by Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino to open the CCAA slate, then bounced back last week with wins over Stanislaus and Cal State Monterey Bay. Chico is hitting .235 as a team and leads the league in service aces, led offensively by Bekah Boyle (3.37 kills/set, 1.98 digs/set) and Kim Wright (2.91 kills/set, 0.81 blocks/set, .352 pct). The Wildcats and East Bay split their matchups last year, with each team winning in its home gym.