HAYWARD, Calif., -- Volleyball season has finally returned, and the Cal State East Bay Pioneers are on the road visiting Southern California to open the 2019 schedule. The team will compete this weekend at the annual PLNU Seaside Classic, hosted by Point Loma University. 
 
East Bay opens the season on Friday at 10:45 a.m. against Seattle Pacific University, followed by a showdown with the host Sea Lions at 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Pioneers take on Southern Nazarene University at 8:30 a.m. and Concordia (Calif.) at 5:45 p.m. before heading back to the Hayward Hills.
 
The CUSEB volleyball team was picked to return to the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament for the fourth straight year, receiving the No. 4 ranking in the North Division in the 2019 CCAA preseason coaches poll. 
 
Head Coach Kimberly Lambert will enter her second season in charge and her 12th year with the Cal State East Bay volleyball program all together. East Bay Finished the 2018 campaign with a 16-13 record including a 11-7 mark in conference action capped off by a trip to the first round of the West Region Tournament.
 
On paper the Pioneers boast one of the youngest teams in the CCAA with only one senior on the roster in Natahlee Wilson. Wilson appeared in 106 total set and finished with 85 assists.
 
Despite the lack of seniors on the 2019 team, it does not mean the Pioneers are without experience. Audrey Lamoureux, Tiana Weeks, Sarah Stevelinck, Bella Carrion, Tayler Templeman, Steena Hubbard, Hannah Finnigan, Julie May, Imani Moreen all saw valuable action last season.
 
Newcomers Jasmyne Love, Eliza Cannon, Kara Green, Kelly Jing-min Markham, Samantha Zimmerman and Kiki Metcalf will all look to add contribution to a team poised to make another run to the 2019 CCAA Volleyball Tournament.
 
WEEKEND OPPONENTS
Seattle Pacific figures to be the toughest of the East Bay opponents this weekend. The Falcons compiled a 12-6-2 record on the season with a 8-3-1 mark in GNAC action before making a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament to end 2018. Seattle Pacific comes into the season with some veteran firepower at the net and some experienced defensive know-how in the back. Senior outside hitter Gabby Oddo recorded her 1,000th career point last season and she also tied the SPU single-match record with 32 kills. The 32nd of which was the 1,000th of her career which made her just the seventh Falcon to have 1,000 points and 1,000 kills.
 
Point Loma finished last season with an 18-11 showing while going 15-7 in PacWest play. The Sea Lions were picked to finish 4th in the PacWest Preseason Poll with the return of the 2018 PacWest Setter of the Year Cara Keturakis. She led the conference in assists last year with 1,061 to boost her career total to 3,132, which ranks seventh in PacWest history. Keturakis needs 1,280 more assists to tie the PacWest career record.
 
Southern Nazarene went 17-16 last season with a 9-7 record in GAC play. The Crimson Storm was tabbed for a 6th place finish in the GAC Preseason Polls as they bring back Bailee Turang, a First-Team All-GAC performer who led the conference in points per set and Logan Matthews, the 2018 GAC Freshman of the Year.
 
Concordia University (Calif.) went 10-20 during the 2018 season with a 9-13 mark in PacWest play. Concordia is picked sixth in the PacWest as the Eagles look to return to what led them to a PacWest title in 2016. The Eagles have six returning starters for the 2019 season after finishing seventh in the conference last year. Clarice Buchanan and Patience O'Neal are both back after earning All-PacWest honorable mention.