Twelve matches into the 2019 season, the Chico State volleyball team has played the grand total of one time on its home floor. The scale finally gets tipped in the Wildcats' favor this week, as they play host to three California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opponents in the friendly confines of Acker Gym. The 'Cats take on Cal State East Bay Tuesday at 7 p.m. before scheduled weekend tilts with Sonoma State Friday at 7 p.m. and Humboldt State Saturday at 5 p.m.
Fans can follow the action of all three matches on the Internet with Live Stats and live streaming video, available on the Wildcat Athletics website.
Chico State enters the week 7-5 on the season and in a tie with San Francisco State atop the CCAA North Division standings with a 3-1 conference mark. The Wildcats split their two-match Bay Area road trip last weekend, sweeping Cal State East Bay in Hayward Friday but losing a tough five-set decision to San Francisco State.
Cal State East Bay is in the midst of a six-match losing streak and comes into Tuesday's contest with an overall record of 1-11 and 0-4 in CCAA play.
In a quirk of the schedule, the Wildcats and Pioneers meet up for the second time in five days when the two teams go head-to-head. Friday's win in Hayward gives Chico State a 34-14 advantage in the all-time series, and though the Wildcats fell to the Pioneers last season at Acker Gym, it marked only the first time Chico State had suffered a home loss at the hands of Cal State East Bay since 2010.
Sonoma State, which visits Chico Friday after a Wednesday home match against Cal State Monterey Bay, is 10-3 entering the week and occupies third place in the CCAA North Division with a 2-1 conference mark. The Seawolves played just one match last week, winning their second in a row by taking a four-set decision Saturday against Humboldt State.
Chico State and Sonoma State split their season series in 2018, and though the Seawolves lost to the Wildcats in the last Acker Gym meeting, head coach Bear Grassl's squad has historically played the 'Cats tough in Chico. Sonoma State leads the all-time series 43-29.
Humboldt State, which invades Acker Gym Saturday after squaring off against Stanislaus State Friday in Turlock, is 5-6 on the season and sitting in fifth place in the CCAA North with a 1-3 conference record. The Lumberjacks, after stunning Call State Monterey Bay in the CCAA opener back on September 18, has lost their last three decisions. The 'Jacks lone match last week was a four-set loss Saturday to Sonoma State.
Chico State took both ends of the season series with Humboldt in 2018, sweeping the Lumberjacks September 28 in Arcata and again at Acker Gym on October 27. The Wildcats have won five straight and 23 of the last 27 meetings with the 'Jacks, and since 1985 hold a 43-12 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams.
