Approaching mid-season, the CSU East Bay volleyball team has won four of their last six games, sitting in with a 10-4 overall record.
As most teams across the CCAA conference find themselves halfway through the season, a mid-year evaluation heading into the meat of the schedule is relevant for the Pioneers.
In the eyes of the reigning CCAA coach of the year, Jim Spagle, sees this year as an opportunity to establish an identity for this team that lost the majority of it’s players to graduation after last season.
“We are a work in progress and we are developing trust in our defensive and offensive systems,” said Spagle.
The road towards establishing a new era of CSUEB volleyball continued.
On Tuesday, as the Pioneers hosted Notre Dame de Namur University, taking all three sets in the victory with sophmoore Katie Allen leading the scoring.
This past weekend, the Pioneers paid a visit to CSU Stanislaus where they walked off winning three of four matches against the Warriors, following a previous victory against CSU Monterrey Bay at home last week.
After the win at Stanislaus, however, the Pioneers traveled to Chico State, where they were defeated in a three-match set.
“Chico was a great opportunity to see where we stood against one of the CCAA’s elite teams,” said Spagle. “The perfect midterm exam to test our progress.”
“We are not where we need to be and must really focus on trusting all of our systems of play,” he said. “Our athletes need to completely focused on the match at hand and disallow outside challenges and barriers that affect their play.”
Overall Coach Spagle feels this team can improve in six particular areas: maturity, discipline, focus, offensive speed, resiliency and the contributions from the non-starters.
Getting the team back to the success they had a season ago, where the Pioneers finished with a 20-7 overall record, will be a challenge for the coaching staff this year.
“At this time we are not close to carrying over the success from last year’s team,” said Spagle. “I would compare the current edition of East Bay Volleyball more to our first year in the CCAA in 2009.”
The 2009 season saw the Pioneers finish the season with a 10-21 overall record and an 8-14 conference record all while transitioning to Division II play.
This year the Pioneers are on pace to beat that record, however they are in a transition period of their own.
With the majority of the team being brought in this summer, the Pioneers came into the 2011 campaign with fresh faces and fresh talent in hopes of having a few key players step up to carry the workload.
“Senior Leslie Ray has stepped up as a leader and is the most valuable asset both on and off the court,” according to Spagle.
Other standouts for Spagle include Kitona Offord, Nicole Boyle and Katie Allen, the last of which who, despite injuries, has found a way to make an impact in games this season.
“We need [Katie] to be our hammer, the presence on the court that opponents fear,” said Spagle.
“With more repetitions, her stock will soar in the next year and I expect her to become not only an All Conference type player, but also an athlete who can be recognized on the national level.”
Allen established herself as a leader through example in her freshman year last year and continues to do the same this year for the Pioneers.
Although Allen is fighting through an Achilles injury and has had offseason finger surgery repairing an injury suffered at the end of last season, the sophomore continues to battle through, according to Spagle.
“We have a lot of talent this year and we have many all-star type players,” said Allen. “So far we have done a great job of putting our egos aside and playing as a team.  We have trusted each other.”
This weekend, the Pioneers will determine where they match up against two of the best teams in the conference.
Nationally ranked CSU San Bernardino and UC San Diego pay a visit to Hayward on Friday and Saturday.
Although Coach Spagle emphasizes that 2011 Pioneers are a work in progress, he is sure that this team has what it takes to make moves in the division.
“This team is very talented group of athletes who will evolve into a brilliant, extremely competitive team that will develop and blossom before your very eyes,” said Spagle.
“Our fans have the opportunity to watch this transformation take place up close and personal.  The wave of enthusiasm this team creates is slowly building and the ride will be amazing.”