CHICO – With a successful conference and home opener officially in the books, the Chico State volleyball team hits the road this weekend for a pair of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) contests. The Wildcats will be in The Kelp Bed in Seaside Friday to face Cal State Monterey Bay, followed by a trip to Hayward Saturday to battle Cal State East Bay. Both matches get underway at 7 p.m.
Chico State is fresh off Wednesday evening's four-set victory over Cal State Stanislaus at Acker Gym, evening the Wildcats' season record at 4-4. The 'Cats will try to notch back-to-back victories for the first time this year when they take the court Friday against Monterey Bay.
With All-American outside hitter Alex Shurtz still nursing the ankle injury that forced her to sit out Wednesday's Stanislaus match, she remains a question mark for this weekend's contests. The Wildcats still take plenty of offensive firepower on the road – outside hitters Ellie Larronde and Hannah Wilkins and middle hitter Lindsay Quigley combined for 47 kills in the conference-opening win over the Warriors. The trio is averaging over nine kills a set, thanks in large part to freshman setter Torey Thompson, whose 11.17 assists per set ranks 14th in the nation.
Cal State Monterey Bay enters the weekend 6-2 on the season. The Otters took three of four last weekend in the Route 92 Showdown, beating Notre Dame de Namur, Holy Names and Academy of Art before falling in four sets to Azusa Pacific to wrap up the tournament.
Monterey Bay features one of the top offenses in the country. The Otters ranked No. 7 in assists (13.63 per set), 10th in kills per set (14.46) and 22nd in attack percentage (.252). Outside hitters Julia Ashen and Jessica Malcolm have already combined for over 250 kills on the season and rank first and third, respectively, among CCAA players.
Chico State holds a 17-2 lead in the all-time series with Monterey Bay and have won the last five meetings, but it's almost always a battle when the Wildcats and Otters square off. Six of the last eight matches between the two teams have gone the full five sets, including last season's meeting in Seaside, won by the 'Cats.
Cal State East Bay is 4-4 so far in 2013, but they head into the weekend riding a four-match winning streak. After dropping four straight at the Western Oregon Invitational to start the season, the Pioneers swept Alaska-Fairbanks, Azusa Pacific, Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific last weekend at the Route 92 Showdown.
East Bay's top hitter is senior Suzy Ni Xu, averaging 2.86 kills per set, while junior Amber Hall contributes 2.39 kills per set.
Chico State took both matches with the Pioneers last year and has won 26 of 35 meetings against East Bay since 1985, though the two teams have split the last eight contests.
Wildcat fans can follow both matches online via Live Stats.
CLICK HERE for Friday's Chico State-Cal State Monterey Bay match
CLICK HERE for Saturday's Chico State-Cal State East Bay match
