SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team will face Cal State East Bay twice this week, traveling to Hayward on Thursday for a 3 p.m. match before returning to The Sports Center on Saturday for a 1 p.m. match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink for CSUSM’s CCAA Pink Match on Saturday.
LAST WEEKEND
The Cougars (8-6, 5-3 CCAA) went 2-0 last weekend, sweeping Humboldt State on Thursday before collecting a four-set victory over Sonoma State on Saturday.
CSUSM registered a season-high 13 block assists on Saturday against SSU, finishing the day with 14 total blocks.
Setter Madison Turner tallied back-to-back double-doubles last weekend in assists and digs in addition to her seven blocks and .571 clip (4k-0e-7ta).
With the wins, CSUSM is now in a three-way tie for fourth place in the CCAA standings with San Francisco State (12-3, 5-3 CCAA) and Sonoma State (7-8, 5-3 CCAA). CCAA leader Cal State San Bernardino (13-3, 8-0) remains undefeated in conference play with Cal Poly Pomona (14-1, 7-1 CCAA) and Cal State LA (6-2, 10-5 CCAA) right behind the Coyotes in the standings.
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS
The Cougars are 67th in the nation and second in the conference in blocks per set at 2.04.
Kiora Ridgeway’s nine total blocks performance against Stanislaus State (Oct. 2) is tied for the most against a CCAA team this season.
Madison Turner is third in the CCAA with 10.28 assists per set average, ranking her 37th in the nation.
CSUSM ranks fourth in the conference in kills per set at 13.47.
Kassy Doering is fourth in the CCAA (43rd in Division II) with a .355 hitting percentage.
On Oct. 1, CSUSM’s 15 total blocks against Chico State was the most by a CCAA school this season in four sets or less. Sonoma State tallied 15 against Cal State Dominguez Hills in a five-set match.
CSUSM’s 52 kills against Fresno Pacific on Sept. 10 remains the highest among CCAA teams in a three-set match this season.
The Cougars are featured three times in the top 10 for most blocks in the CCAA – 15 vs. Chico State (Oct. 1), 14 vs. Sonoma State (Oct. 9) and 13 vs. Stanislaus State (Oct. 2).
Doering’s .813 hitting percentage (13k, 0e, 16ta) against Dominican on Sept. 4 is the highest by a CCAA student-athlete this season.
Stephanie Adams
MATCH 15 | AT CAL STATE EAST BAY
Date Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021
Time 3 p.m.
Location Hayward, Calif.
Venue Pioneer Gymnasium
Records CSUSM (8-6, 5-3 CCAA)
CSUEB (7-9, 2-6 CCAA)
MATCH 16 | CAL STATE EAST BAY
Date Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021
Times 1 p.m.
Location San Marcos, Calif.
Venue The Sports Center
Records CSUSM (8-6, 5-3 CCAA)
CSUEB (7-9, 2-6 CCAA)
Live Stats Sidearm Stats
Live Video CCAA Network
Tickets HomeTown Ticketing
COVID-19 Policy Fans are required to wear a mask at all times regardless of vaccination status.
DOUBLE DOSE OF CSUEB
After starting conference play 0-5, the Pioneers have gone 2-1 in their last three matches by recording wins over Chico State and Humboldt State.
CSUEB dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Sonoma State last Thursday (20-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-21, 11-15) in Hayward.
The Cougars hold a slight lead in the all-time series against CSUEB at 4-3.
In their last meeting, the Cougars swept the Pioneers in Hayward by scores of 25-19, 25-22 and 25-14.
CSUSM holds a 3-0 record at home against the Pioneers while CSUEB holds a 2-1 advantage when playing in Hayward.
The one neutral match the two teams played went in favor of the Pioneers, a four-set decision in the first round of the 2018 CCAA Conference Championships held at Stanislaus State.
CSUEB is in the middle of the pack in most CCAA statistics. The most prominent difference between these two teams is their blocks per set average as the Cougars are No. 2 in the CCAA at 2.04 while the Pioneers are No. 11 at 1.49.
Breyan Ashley leads the Pioneers in kills (184), digs (166) and aces (18).
In the 2021 CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll, Cal State East Bay was picked to finish in 10th place.
COUGAR OUTLOOK
CSUSM returned five starters from the 2019 season – Grecia Cordero-Barr (L), Kassy Doering (MB), Micah Hébert (OH), Madison Turner (S) and Emily Vander Weide (OH).
Nine will be donning Cougar Blue for the first time in 2021 with the combination of last year’s and this year’s freshman classes.
The 2019 season ended on a high note with the Cougars recording their first-ever CCAA Tournament victory, a five-set thriller over Stanislaus State.
CSUSM’s 2019 season came to an end in the next match, falling to eventual NCAA Division II National Champion Cal State San Bernardino.
As a team in the CCAA statistics, CSUSM concluded 2019 ranked third in kills per set (13.08), blocks per set (2.12) and digs per set (15.40).
Grecia Cordero-Barr was the 2019 CCAA leader in digs per set (4.70) and was second in total digs (437).
In the 2021 CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll, the Cougars were picked to finish third.
THE LEONARD FILE
Head coach Andrea Leonard enters her eleventh season in charge of the Cougar volleyball team, a program she has built from the ground up since arriving on campus in 2010.
Leonard has a 184-122 (.601) record as CSUSM’s head coach.
In 16 seasons as a collegiate head volleyball coach, Leonard holds a 276-248(.511) career record.
Leonard was CSUSM’s first-ever CCAA Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to a third-place finish in the overall standings during the 2017 season.
