ARCATA — California Collegiate Athletic Association action begins Thursday with Humboldt State's home match against Cal State Los Angeles. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Lumberjack Arena.
Another CCAA opponent, Cal State Dominguez Hills, visits Saturday for a special 4 p.m. matinee. The two competitions also mark Humboldt State's 2009 home debut.
Head-to-Head
Each school won on its home court in 2008, splitting the two-match series and giving CSULA a 9-3 advantage all-time. Humboldt State had the same result against CSUDH a year ago, falling in four at Carson and taking the Toros in three at Arcata. HSU still trails the one-sided series, 3-11.
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
Two preseason weekends produced diametrically opposite results for the Lumberjacks, who dropped four matches at their opening tournament two weeks ago before sweeping four this past weekend. With preseason complete, the Lumberjacks enter the CCAA season 4-4 overall, and hope to get out quickly in their only September home matches. “We're well prepared to enter the next portion of the season,” HSU head coach Sue Woodstra said. “The CCAA is a competitive league, and we'll be in for a battle from the first whistle to the last.” …HSU's turnaround had a lot to do with its serving effectiveness. The Jacks committed 33 service errors in 16 sets in its first four matches, and made only 18 miscues in 18 sets the second weekend. “We served and passes consistently,” Woodstra said. “That allows us to put pressure on teams with our blocking and defense.” …HSU's blockers set the pace in the CCAA through the early going, totaling 83.5 blocks for an average of 2.46 per set. That status ranks the Jacks comfortably ahead of Sonoma State's 2.21 average. …Individually, Allison Drobish is HSU's leader with an average of 1.03 blocks per game, ranking her second in the CCAA. Jo Arzadon is Humboldt State's other player listed among CCAA leaders, ranking eighth with 8.18 assists per set. …Danielle Wells eclipsed the 300-block mark for her HSU career, and enters the week with 306 total. The senior from Ripon is now 12 blocks short of taking over the No. 2 spot on the HSU career list, and 37 shy of the top position.
Opponent Notes
Cal State Los Angeles is off to a 4-3 start to its season following three home matches and four on the road. Among the Eagles' early victories are straight-set wins over Alaska Fairbanks and Seattle Pacific, with only a five-set loss to No. 23 ranked Western Washington keeping them from going unbeaten at home. …Gabriela Bulawczyk is CSLA's leading returner, and she tops the team with an average of 4.37 kills per set. The senior outside hitter has posted a .297 hitting percentage through the first 27 sets. …Cal State Dominguez Hills is currently 0-7 after starting the season with the exact same opponents as CSLA. In their seven matches, the Toros have won only a single game, that coming in a four-set loss to No. 23 ranked Western Washington. …Juniors Ashley Clark and Samantha Maxwell have been the top two weapons for CSUDH, averaging 2.77 and 2.36 killer per set, respectively. Defensively, Madison Horsley paces the Toros with 61 digs,.
Woodstra's Words
“Cal State Los Angeles has a strong outside attack. They are young, but the new people they have are talented.” … “Cal State Dominguez Hills has played a very tough schedule. They'll come in here looking for a win.” … “Though this is a short week of practices, we'll still have more time to prepare for two opponents instead of four. It gives us a chance to clean up some areas.”… “We've found two different ways to play well. We should still be able to use both of those styles this week.”
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.
