TURLOCK, Calif.--- Stan State begins a four-match road trip this weekend with a pair of CCAA matches in the Bay Area. The Warriors will open the trip Friday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m. against Menlo College at Haynes-Prim Pavilion in Atherton before traveling to Seaside to face Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m. at The Kelp Bed. Stan State enters the weekend looking to get back in the win column and gain ground in the CCAA standings as the conference tournament race continues.

Flowers at the Helm
Lauren Flowers enters the weekend with a 68-60 (.531) career record in her fifth season at the helm of the Stan State volleyball program and remains two victories away from 70 career wins. Flowers ranks third on the program's all-time victories list behind Christina Lore (82) and Cindy Nikkel (78), while her .531 career winning percentage remains the highest in program history.

During Flowers' tenure, Warriors have earned 16 All-CCAA honors, including 2024 CCAA Libero of the Year Gabby Rawson and 2024 CCAA Freshman of the Year Malia Tanksley. Rawson also earned AVCA All-America honors in 2024 along with First Team D2CCA All-West Region and AVCA All-West Region honors, while Ellison Weaver was named the 2024 CCAA Tournament MVP and became the first Warrior to earn AVCA National Player of the Week honors.

Flowers has guided Stan State to three CCAA Tournament appearances, highlighted by the program's first CCAA Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024, when the Warriors established a program record with 22 victories.

Weekend Recap
Stan State dropped a pair of CCAA home matches last weekend at the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena, falling in three sets to No. 15 Cal Poly Pomona (25-21, 25-12, 25-19) on Friday's Mental Health Awareness Night before losing in four sets to Cal State Los Angeles (25-23, 24-26, 25-16, 25-20) during Saturday's annual Dig Pink match. Against the nationally ranked Broncos, Lauren Hamilton and Fallon Freeman led the Warriors with five kills apiece, while

Hamilton hit .333 and added four block assists. Sydney Hoffman finished with four kills and three total blocks as Stan State recorded seven team blocks. On Saturday, Reagan Wilkerson posted her seventh double-double of the season with 26 assists and 11 digs, while Soraya Forbes led the Warriors with nine kills on 13 attempts for a .538 hitting percentage and four total blocks. Lauren Gonzales added five kills, four service aces and nine digs, while Laila

Greene contributed five kills and four block assists. The Warriors rallied from a 22-17 deficit to win the second set 26-24 against the Golden Eagles before dropping the final two sets. Stan State finished the weekend 0-2 and enters this week's road trip 5-11 overall and 1-6 in the CCAA.

Warriors in Review
Stan State enters the weekend 5-11 overall and 1-6 in the CCAA. Emily Meyer leads the Warriors with 129 kills and is averaging 2.05 kills per set, followed by Maggie Olson with 114 kills (1.97 per set), Fallon Freeman with 112 (2.00 per set) and Lauren Gonzales with 105 (1.75 per set). Lauren Hamilton leads Stan State with a .298 hitting percentage and has recorded 101 kills, while Freeman is hitting .262 and Sydney Hoffman is hitting .290. Reagan Wilkerson directs the offense with 360 assists and is averaging 6.43 assists per set, while Ireland Avalos has contributed 136 assists.

Defensively, Leah Mendoza leads the Warriors with 164 digs, followed by Rylee Szyszka with 148, Gonzales with 146 and Wilkerson with 132. Gonzales also leads Stan State with 22 service aces, while Szyszka has 16. Hamilton leads the Warriors at the net with 55 total blocks, including 17 solo blocks, followed by Freeman with 27 and Hoffman with 21. As a team, Stan State is hitting .182 and averaging 11.32 kills, 10.23 assists, 14.62 digs and 1.82 blocks per set.

Seeing Double
Stan State has received double-double performances from five Warriors this season. Wilkerson leads the team with seven double-doubles, including her most recent performance of 26 assists and 11 digs against Cal State Los Angeles on Oct. 10. Wilkerson now has nine double-doubles in her Warrior career. Gonzales has recorded four double-doubles this season, while Avalos has three as a Warrior. Szyszka recorded her first career double-double with 11 assists and 19 digs at Cal State Dominguez Hills, while Freeman posted her first double-double as a Warrior with a career-high 23 kills and 15 digs against Cal State East Bay during the CCAA Pod Weekend in Turlock.

CCAA Leaders
Stan State ranks among the top seven in the CCAA in two team statistical categories and has three players ranked among the conference's top 10 individually. The Warriors rank fifth in opponent assists, limiting opponents to 10.70 assists per set, and seventh in opponent kills, holding opponents to 12.03 kills per set. Individually, Hamilton ranks ninth in the CCAA with a .298 hitting percentage and seventh in blocks with 55 total blocks, including 17 solo blocks, while averaging 0.90 blocks per set. Wilkerson ranks eighth in assists with 360 and is averaging 6.43 assists per set, while Gonzales ranks ninth in service aces with 22, averaging 0.37 per set.

Road to the CCAA Tournament
The top seven teams in the CCAA standings will advance to the 2026 CCAA Volleyball Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal matches on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at campus sites. The top seed will receive a first-round bye, while the fourth through seventh seeds will compete in the quarterfinals, along with the second and third seeds. The semifinals will take place Friday, Nov. 13, at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., followed by the championship match Saturday, Nov. 14, at 5 p.m. All semifinal and championship matches will be played at Pioneer Gym on the campus of Cal State East Bay in Hayward.

Stan State enters the weekend 1-6 in conference play and is tied with Chico State, UC Merced and Cal State Dominguez Hills in the standings. San Francisco State currently occupies seventh place with a 4-4 CCAA record, followed by Cal Poly Humboldt at 3-4, while this weekend's opponents, Menlo and Cal State Monterey Bay, are tied at 3-5. With nine conference matches remaining, the Warriors will look to gain ground in the postseason race during this weekend's road matches against the Oaks and Otters.

Scouting Menlo College
Menlo enters Friday's match 5-11 overall and 3-5 in the CCAA. The Oaks have lost three consecutive matches, including a four-set loss at Cal State San Marcos (25-20, 22-25, 14-25, 20-25) on Friday and a three-set defeat at No. 10 Cal State San Bernardino (25-11, 25-17, 25-10) on Saturday. Menlo's conference victories have come against Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal Poly Humboldt and UC Merced. The Oaks are 3-1 at home this season. As a team, Menlo is hitting .139 and averaging 11.31 kills, 10.47 assists, 1.16 service aces, 15.61 digs and 1.11 blocks per set.

Fuka Kikuchi leads the Oaks with 213 kills and is averaging 3.61 kills per set, ranking sixth in the CCAA. Kikuchi also has 130 digs and 10 service aces. Michelle Mlikan follows with 138 kills and leads Menlo with 211 digs (3.40 per set), ranking eighth in the conference in digs. Dayjah McFadden has contributed 133 kills, while Kate Ross has 70. Ruby Santos leads the Oaks with 280 assists, followed by Makenna Mello with 238. Mlikan leads Menlo with 16 service aces, while Avery Krebill and Sophia Kelso each have 27 total blocks.

Stan State-Menlo Series
Stan State and Menlo have split their two previous meetings, with Friday's match marking the first time the programs will face each other as CCAA opponents. The Warriors won the inaugural meeting in four sets, 25-16, 20-25, 25-19, 30-28, on Sept. 13, 2024, in Turlock during the Stan State Volleyball Tournament. In that victory, Isabella Saucedo led the Warriors with 20 kills and nine digs, while Alex Byrd recorded 14 kills without an error on 18 attempts for a .778 hitting percentage and added four total blocks. Autumn Kirby finished with six kills, three service aces and four block assists, while Haley Burdo recorded 28 assists. Gabby Rawson added 16 digs as Stan State hit .241 with 58 kills.

Menlo evened the series with a three-set victory, 25-22, 25-22, 25-19, on Sept. 6, 2025, at the Sunbird Classic in Fresno. Saucedo led Stan State with 11 kills and 14 digs, while Malia Tanksley added eight kills while hitting .350. Leah Mendoza recorded a team-high 19 digs, and Shaelyn Pruiett finished with 17 assists. Menlo was led by Fuka Kikuchi with 16 kills while hitting .326 and 10 digs, while Dayjah McFadden added 10 kills and 13 digs.

Although Friday will be Stan State's first road match against Menlo, the Warriors have previously played at Haynes-Prim Pavilion. On Sept. 21, 2024, Stan State defeated Cal State East Bay in four sets, 25-18, 25-9, 20-25, 25-21, at the Atherton venue.

Scouting Cal State Monterey Bay
Cal State Monterey Bay enters Saturday's match 3-13 overall and 3-5 in the CCAA. The Otters have lost two consecutive matches, including a five-set defeat at No. 10 Cal State San Bernardino (25-16, 15-25, 16-25, 25-23, 9-15) on Friday and a three-set loss at Cal State San Marcos (25-21, 25-22, 25-9) on Saturday. Cal State Monterey Bay's conference victories have come against Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal State Dominguez Hills and UC Merced. All three victories have come at home, where the Otters are 3-4 this season. As a team, Cal State Monterey Bay is hitting .145 and averaging 11.17 kills, 10.47 assists, 1.68 service aces, 12.08 digs and 1.56 blocks per set.

Malia Peterson leads the Otters with 185 kills and is averaging 3.14 kills per set. Peterson also leads the team with 23 service aces, ranking fifth in the CCAA at 0.39 per set, and has recorded 122 digs. Abby Witzansky follows with 131 kills while hitting a team-best .217 among regular attackers, while Lilly Bandle has 91 kills and a team-high 40 total blocks. Malia Thorne has contributed 86 kills, 19 service aces and 43 total blocks to lead the team at the net. Sofia MacPherson leads the Otters with 259 assists, followed by Maya Cann with 255. Macey Camacho leads Cal State Monterey Bay defensively with 181 digs, averaging 3.07 per set.

Stan State-Cal State Monterey Bay Series
Stan State leads the all-time series with Cal State Monterey Bay 8-6 since 2012 and enters Saturday's match riding a three-match winning streak against the Otters. The Warriors swept Cal State Monterey Bay 25-19, 25-13, 25-16, on Nov. 8, 2025, in Turlock in the most recent meeting. Christallynn Tate led Stan State with 16 kills while hitting .467, while Lauren Hamilton added six kills without an error on 14 attempts for a .429 hitting percentage and five block assists. Malia Tanksley contributed six kills, Shaelyn Pruiett recorded 24 assists and Leah Mendoza finished with 11 digs. Stan State hit .287 as a team while holding the Otters to a .095 hitting percentage.

Earlier in the 2025 season, Stan State defeated Cal State Monterey Bay in five sets on Oct. 3 in Seaside. Isabella Saucedo led the Warriors with 19 kills, while Tate added 14 kills and hit .323. Fallon Freeman finished with 12 kills while hitting .296, and Hamilton recorded five kills without an error on six attempts for an .833 hitting percentage. Reagan Wilkerson posted a double-double with 20 assists and 16 digs while adding three service aces, and Pruiett contributed 26 assists. Mendoza and Lauren Gonzales added 10 and 11 digs, respectively, as Stan State finished with 64 kills and 80 digs.

The Warriors also swept Cal State Monterey Bay 25-12, 25-17, 25-19, on Nov. 16, 2024, in Turlock to begin their current three-match winning streak. Stan State is 3-4 all-time in Seaside, with its most recent road victory coming in last season's five-set match. Saturday's contest will mark the first meeting between the programs in 2026.

CCAA Sports on FloCollege
Both of Stan State's CCAA road matches this weekend will be streamed live on FloCollege. Fans can watch the Warriors face Menlo College on Friday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m. from Haynes-Prim Pavilion in Atherton and Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m. from The Kelp Bed in Seaside. All CCAA volleyball matches throughout the 2026 season are available on FloCollege. Fans can also follow both matches through live stats on the Warrior Athletics website.

Up Next
Following this weekend's CCAA road matches at Menlo College and Cal State Monterey Bay, Stan State continues its four-match road trip with its second CCAA Pod Weekend of the season in San Bernardino. The Warriors will face No. 10 Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 5 p.m. before taking on Cal State Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 23, at 5 p.m. Both non-conference matches will be played at Coussoulis Arena.

Stan State returns home for its final four regular-season matches, beginning with a pair of Central Valley rivals. The Warriors will host No. 4 Fresno Pacific on Friday, Oct. 30, at 5 p.m. and UC Merced on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 5 p.m.

The following weekend, Stan State will host No. 10 Cal State San Bernardino on Friday, Nov. 6, at 5 p.m. before concluding the regular season against Cal State San Marcos on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. for Senior Day. The Warriors will recognize five seniors during the Senior Day match: Leah Mendoza, Irene London, Emily Meyer, Lauren Hamilton and Maggie Olson. London participated in last year's Senior Day ceremonies. All four home matches will be played at the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.