HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team will host a pair of Southern Division opponents for their upcoming home slate. The Pioneers will welcome in the top ranked team in the nation in Cal State San Bernardino on Friday night before wrapping up the weekend with a match on Saturday evening against Cal Poly Pomona.
 
East Bay have now won three consecutive home contests and head coach Kimberly Lambert has noticed significant growth in her young team since the start of the season.
 
"We faced some really tough opponents to begin the season and our young athletes had to face adversity from the start," expressed Lambert. "It has really helped us continue to cultivate the culture both on and off the court and understand what it takes to compete at the highest level."
 
The Pioneers are currently 3-6 in the conference in sitting in fifth place of the North Division of the 2019 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) volleyball standings. But Coach Lambert believes her team is up for any challenge, including going toe-to-toe with the top ranked team in the nation.
 
"You want the challenge of facing the best team," Lambert explained. "In the end you can only get better when you challenge yourself. You get a great feel for what works and what doesn't. Now that our team is buying in and starting to produce, you can see them begin to correct mistakes on their own without always needing assistance from us coaches. And that's really huge. It's what you look for in your team."
 
PIONEER POINTS
 

• The Pioneers have now compiled three straight home victories.
• East Bay has racked up more blocks than opponents 117-74.5 on the season.
• The Pioneers 74.5 blocks allowed on the season is the lowest in the CCAA. 
• Freshman Kara Green leads the Pioneers with 157 kills and 178.0 total points this season.
• Kara Green's 157 kills rank 8th in the CCAA.
• Freshman Eliza Cannon is tops on the Pioneers with 457 assists.
• Eliza Cannon's 457 assists are 6th best in the conference.
• Sophomore Sarah Stevelinck leads the Pioneers with 260 digs which is 4th in the CCAA.
• Steena Hubbard is tops on the squad with 47 blocks and that ranks 8th best in the league.

 
SCOUTING #1 CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO
The San Bernardino Coyotes enter their matchup with the Pioneers as the top ranked team in the country with a 17-0 record with a 10-0 mark in CCAA action. Alexis Cardoza leads CSUSB with 250 kills and 286 total points. Leilia To'omalatai is tops on the Coyotes with 193 digs.
 
SCOUTING CAL POLY POMONA
The Cal Poly Ponoma Broncos come into their contest against the Pioneers with a 4-13 mark overall and a 2-8 showing in conference action after back-to-back losses to Cal State San Marcos and Cal State San Bernardino last week. Jazmin Parrish leads the Broncos with 200 kills and 205 total points. Brynn Sherbert is tops on the squad with 154 digs.