ARCATA — While September forced the Humboldt State volleyball team to travel four of the first five weekends, October offers the opposite itinerary. This week the Jacks begin a stretch that includes nine home matches in the next 11 contests, opening with Friday's 7 p.m. match against Chico State. They'll take the court again Saturday evening, squaring off against Cal State Stanislaus at 7 p.m.
Head-to-Head
One of the Jacks' greatest traditional rivals, Chico State trails HSU, 22-32 in the all-time series. The Wildcats have had the better of recent action, however, winning both matches in three straight last year. …Humboldt State commands a 44-10 lead in its historical series against Cal State Stanislaus, including two five-set victories in 2008.
LiveStats
Live statistics for all HSU home matches can be accessed at http://livestats.internetconsult.com/humboldt/wvball/ while the event is in progress. Play-by-play, individual statistics and other current information is displayed in real time.
Lumberjack Notes
Consistency continues to be the missing factor in Humboldt State's success formula, with an up-and-down nature troubling the Lumberjacks again in last week's matches. "We really struggled with our passing," HSU head coach Sue Woodstra said. "We would get a good streak going, then we seemed to go back on our heels. Our passing has allowed other teams too many of their own streaks." …Serving has been streaky as well, the Jacks racking up 80 aces this fall as compared to 106 by opponents. …An area the Jacks have held steady is their blocking, which was padded this week by another 13 team blocks. League leaders at in blocking, the Jacks are averaging 2.28 per set. …Danielle Wells' march toward the all-time Lumberjack blocking record continues, with eight added to her season and career totals last week. The senior now has 329 during her three-plus seasons, and is 14 shy of breaking Jenn Lundeen's HSU career record. …Sophomore Lesley Kalbrener continues her rehabilitation from a leg injury and remains unavailable for this week. She'll be back in the gym next week and will be assessed on a daily basis.
Opponent Notes
Chico State had a strong start to its season, but has run into a rough stretch in recent CCAA matches. Last week, the Wildcats fell in four to UC San Diego before dropping three straight against Cal State East Bay. They've lost three of their last four and now hold a 12-4 overall record and 3-3 CCAA mark. …Sophomore Makenzie Snyder has been Chico State's primary offensive force, leading her team with an average of 4.96 kills per set. …Chico State's young roster includes five freshmen and four sophomores. Only one senior and two juniors are among the list of 12 players. …Cal State Stanislaus fell twice on the road last week, losing in three straight sets against both UC San Diego and Cal State East Bay. The Warriors are currently 6-8 for the season and 0-6 in the CCAA. …Lianne Vicchio is the Warriors' leader in kills, with 2.82 per set, and is second on her team in digs, averaging 2.90. Melissa Biship has 44 blocks for the season, and is averaging 0.94 per set.
Woodstra's Words
“Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus are both very young teams. Chico has a freshman setter and freshman libero, who are doing well for them, but they're coming off two touch matches. But this is Humboldt against Chico, so I expect them to come out blazing." … "Cal State Stanislaus is struggling with a lot of new people in the program. I'm sure that has a lot to do with their record thus far."
Lumberjack Links
Follow this link or paste it in your browser to access the current Lumberjack roster: http://hsujacks.com/roster.aspx?path=vball&. For current statistics following the weekend's matches, visit http://hsujacks.com/custompages/vball/2009/teamstat.htm?path=vball.
