ARCATA — After playing six of its last seven games on the road, Humboldt State is excited to be back in the comforts of home. Getting ready for this weekend's action won't be a relaxing time for the Jacks, however, as the team hopes to snap a six-game losing streak.

The Jacks will have to battle for victory as they host two tough California Collegiate Athletic Association teams. On Thursday, Sept. 20, HSU will face defending CCAA Champions since 2006 Cal State San Bernardino, before taking on UC San Diego, who finished third in the conference last year, on Saturday, Sept. 22. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. in Lumberjack Arena.

Head-to-Head

The matchup between Humboldt State and Cal State San Bernardino over the years has left the Coyotes with the upper hand in the all-time series at 15-3. Last year, CSUSB swept the series against the Jacks, winning both games in three sets. 

UC San Diego has dominated the all-time series, surrendering just one match to the Jacks, while taking 11 victories. In 2011, the Jacks battled with the Tritons on the road, but couldn't push through to victory, falling in three sets (26-24, 25-14, 29-27). UCSD also claimed a three-set win in Lumberjack Arena last year.

Multimedia

Fans can follow play-by-play results of both matches via Live Stats at http://sidearmstats.com/humboldt/wvball/scoreboard.aspx. A live video feed will also be provided through the Lumberjack U-Stream account. Thursday's link can be found at http://ustre.am/2fLC, while Saturday's action can be seen at http://ustre.am/dUk2.

Coyote Notes

The defending CCAA Championship Cal State San Bernardino squad has had a little bit of a rough start against some tough teams. The Coyotes stand 4-6 overall, 1-1 in conference, coming off a split in CCAA action over the weekend. CSUSB beat Cal State Dominguez Hills in three-straight sets (25-22, 25-12, 25-22), but fell in three to Cal State Los Angeles (25-14, 25-21, 25-8). ... Earlier in the year, the Coyotes put up a fight in the first two sets against the No. 1-ranked team at the time, Concordia (St. Paul), but fell 1-3 (25-23, 23-25, 25-16, 25-15). ... Ashley Solis leads the attack, averaging 2.97 kills per set and has served 10 aces. Brenna McIntosh's .333 attack percentage tops the squad and comes in second on the team with 26 blocks. Mercedes Winchester leads the blocking effort with 32 total blocks to help the Coyotes average 2.1 blocks per set. As a team, CSUSB boasts a .884 serving percentage and .160 attack percentage, averaging 11.8 kills per set.

Triton Notes

UC San Diego also enters the weekend with a split in conference play. The Tritons beat Cal State L.A. 3-1 (28-26, 24-26, 28-26, 25-23), but fell in three sets to Cal State Dominguez Hills (25-16, 28-26, 25-20) to put UCSD's overall record at 6-4, 1-1 in the CCAA. ... As a team, the Tritons are hitting at .206 percent and average 13.2 kills per set. Danielle Dahle and Sara McCutchan lead the attack for UCSD, averaging 3.46 and 2.59 kills per set, respectively. McCutchan is hitting at .341 percent and averages one block each set with a total of 37 blocks. Dahle and McCutchan are also dangerous from the line, serving 12 and 11 aces, respectively to put the Tritons' serve percentage at .915 on the season. Dahle also leads with 109 digs, but is followed closely by Brittany Lombardi with 107 digs.

Lumberjack Notes

Humboldt State comes into the weekend looking to find its first conference win. The Jacks fell in three sets to Cal State Stanislaus (25-16, 25-18, 25-14) and lost 1-3 to Chico State (25-9, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19). As a team, HSU hits with a .115 attack percentage, averaging 10.2 kills per set. Alexa Rosendale leads with 116 kills, followed by Channel Washington with 88 kills and Ashley Neale with 81 kills. The Jacks continue to serve aggressively and average 2.1 aces per set, led by Neale, Rosendale and Sarah Wilber with 16, 15 and 14 aces, respectively. ... Defensively, Tiffany McCray has recorded 170 digs, followed by Rosendale with 125 digs. ... Allison Drobish and Merry Ellen Ackema provide height at the net to help the Jacks average 1.7 blocks per set. Drobish leads with 31 total blocks, including 10 solo blocks, with Ackema picking up 23 total blocks.

Woodstra's Words

"We need to be able to keep our energy and composure up. We're not very consistent. If we get down, we beat ourselves up. We put up a great fight in the fourth set against Chico State, but we need to do that every time. ... We still need to work on getting better touches off the ball and better passes. ... We can compete with any team. We just need to keep believing in ourselves and reduce our errors. We need to focus better."