Cal State East Bay’s women’s volleyball has won more games than all of last season after just five weeks of games.
Head Coach Jim Spagle is entering his fifteenth season at CSUEB and his team’s progress is reflected in their performances on the court and on the stats sheet.
“Teams must be prepared mentally and physically for each contest. This can be a challenge when athletes are studying for exams, working a part time job, encounter an illness/injuries, or just being a college student socially,” Spagle said.
“So everyone in the program must focus both on and off the court in order to be ready competitively.”
Coming off a huge win against fourth ranked Cal State San Bernardino, has allowed the team to rank among the top 25 teams in Division-II nationwide. The twenty-third ranked Pioneer volleyball team, despite a 3-2 win over Cal State San Bernardino suffered their first home loss of the season to a well prepared Cal Poly Pomona squad. The unsuspecting Pioneers were shocked in a 3-1 loss, but found a way to rebound from it they executed an upset of their own defeating a Cal State San Bernardino team ranked in the top five.
“We suffered a disappointing loss to a very solid Cal Poly Pomona team. I think that the team came out with a sense of urgency on Saturday night, and played with the resolve, intensity and passion required in every match in the CCAA [California Collegiate Athletic Association],” Spagle said.
This year seniors Ariel Ajagu and K.C. Walsh have led the team throughout the season and have contributed in numerous ways to the development of younger players, as well as the progress of the team as a whole.
The Pioneers also have young talent on their side of the court with players like sophomores Kitona Offord and Jade Sanford, as well as freshman Katie Allen. These contributions have given the women’s volleyball team an opportunity to compete at higher levels than in the past.
Expectations have been set high this year, and throughout the majority of the season the team has proved to be consistent.
They experienced a brief 3-game losing streak at the hands of San Francisco State, CSU Monterrey Bay and CSU Stanislaus. All three of these teams will visit Hayward later this month. With the Pioneers’ only losing one home game thus far, it is only fitting they most likely get revenge on these three schools.
“The approach for the team is to continue to push hard in practice, and to be prepared for matches and practices at all times. Maturity and a complete ‘team’ concept will determine our success or failure during the second half of the season, I know that the team, coaching staff and I are really looking forward to the challenge,” Spagle said
The remainder of the season looks to be victorious. The women’s volleyball team is turning out to be the most successful sport of the fall 2010 season. Expectations are at their highest for this talented group of athletes.