TURLOCK, Calif.--- Stan State returns to the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena this weekend to begin its final four-match homestand of the regular season with a pair of CCAA contests against Central Valley rivals No. 4 Fresno Pacific and UC Merced. The Warriors (6-14, 2-7 CCAA) will host the nationally ranked Sunbirds on Friday, Oct. 30, at 5 p.m. before welcoming the Bobcats on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31, at 5 p.m. Stan State returns home after concluding a four-match road trip and will look to gain ground in the CCAA standings as the Warriors make their final push for a berth in the seven-team CCAA Volleyball Tournament, which begins Nov. 10.

Flowers at the Helm
Lauren Flowers is in her fifth season at the helm of the Stan State volleyball program and enters this weekend's home matches with a 69-62 (.527) career record. Flowers ranks third on the program's all-time victories list behind Christina Lore (82) and Cindy Nikkel (78), while her career winning percentage remains the highest in program history. During Flowers' tenure, the 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, 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 concluded its final four-match road trip of the regular season with a pair of three-set setbacks to No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino (25-20, 25-17, 25-15) on Thursday and Cal State LA (25-23, 25-17, 25-22) on Friday during CCAA Pod Weekend No. 2 at Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino. The Warriors hit .106 over six sets, averaging 9.67 kills, 8.50 assists, 0.67 service aces, 16.00 digs and 2.33 blocks per set. Fallon Freeman led Stan State with 17 kills while hitting .318 and added six block assists. Lauren Gonzales and Soraya Forbes each contributed 10 kills, while Gonzales recorded 24 digs and Forbes added five block assists. Lauren Hamilton finished with seven total blocks, including one solo block, while Leah Mendoza led the Warriors with 28 digs, averaging 4.67 digs per set. Reagan Wilkerson recorded 24 assists, 15 digs and two service aces, including her 10th double-double of the season and 12th of her Warrior career against Cal State LA. Stan State finished the weekend with 58 kills, 96 digs, four service aces and 14 team blocks. Both matches were non-conference contests and did not count toward the CCAA standings.

Warriors in Review
Stan State enters its final four-match home-stand of the regular season with a 6-14 overall record and a 2-7 mark in CCAA play. The Warriors are hitting .184 as a team while averaging 11.28 kills, 10.19 assists, 1.35 service aces, 14.74 digs and 1.94 blocks per set. Emily Meyer leads Stan State with 161 kills, averaging 2.12 kills per set, followed by Fallon Freeman with 149 (2.10 per set), Maggie Olson with 134 (1.91 per set), Lauren Hamilton with 123 (1.64 per set) and Lauren Gonzales with 120 (1.60 per set). Hamilton leads the Warriors with a .289 hitting percentage, followed by Sydney Hoffman at .276, Freeman at .262 and Soraya Forbes at .232.
Reagan Wilkerson directs the offense with 434 assists, averaging 6.11 assists per set, while Ireland Avalos has contributed 170 assists. Defensively, Leah Mendoza leads the Warriors with 213 digs, followed by Gonzales with 197, Rylee Szyszka with 168 and Wilkerson with 167. Gonzales leads Stan State with 27 service aces, followed by Szyszka with 21 and Wilkerson with 18. Hamilton leads the Warriors at the net with 75 total blocks, including 21 solo blocks, averaging 1.00 block per set. Freeman follows with 38 total blocks, while Forbes has added 34.

Seeing Double
Stan State has received double-double performances from five Warriors this season. Reagan Wilkerson leads the team with 10 double-doubles, including her latest performance of 16 assists and 10 digs against Cal State LA on Oct. 23 during CCAA Pod Weekend No. 2. Wilkerson now has 12 double-doubles in her Warrior career. Lauren Gonzales has recorded four double-doubles this season, while Ireland Avalos has three. Rylee Szyszka recorded her first career double-double with 11 assists and 19 digs at Cal State Dominguez Hills, while Fallon 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 Standings
With four conference matches remaining in the regular season, Stan State (6-14, 2-7 CCAA) enters the final two weekends looking to make a push for one of the seven berths in the 2026 CCAA Volleyball Tournament. No. 4 Fresno Pacific leads the conference with a perfect 9-0 record (21-0 overall), followed by No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino at 9-1 (20-2). Both teams have already secured berths in the conference tournament. Cal Poly Pomona is third at 7-2, followed by Cal State LA at 6-3. San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay are tied for fifth at 5-4, while Menlo, Cal State San Marcos and Cal State Monterey Bay are tied at 5-5. Cal Poly Humboldt follows at 4-5, while Stan State and UC Merced are tied at 2-7. Chico State is 1-8, while Cal State Dominguez Hills is 1-9. The top seven teams in the final CCAA standings will qualify for the conference tournament, beginning Nov. 10.

CCAA Statistical Leaders
Stan State ranks among the top seven teams in the CCAA in two statistical categories heading into the final two weekends of the regular season. The Warriors are sixth in hitting percentage at .185, recording 914 kills on 2,818 attempts, and seventh in blocking with 157.5 total blocks, averaging 1.94 blocks per set. No. 4 Fresno Pacific leads the conference in hitting percentage at .305, while No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino leads in blocking at 2.46 blocks per set.

Three Stan State players rank among the CCAA's top 10 individual statistical leaders. Lauren Hamilton is fourth in blocking with 75 total blocks, including 21 solo blocks and 54 block assists, averaging 1.00 block per set. Reagan Wilkerson ranks 10th in assists with 434, averaging 6.11 assists per set, while Lauren Gonzales is ninth in service aces with 27, averaging 0.36 per set. Hamilton, who was named the FloCollege/CCAA Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 12-18, continues to lead the Warriors at the net as they enter their final four regular-season matches.

This Week in the CCAA
The CCAA volleyball schedule features 13 conference matches this week as teams continue their push for one of the seven berths in the 2026 CCAA Volleyball Tournament. Four conference matches are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29, including Cal State Dominguez Hills at Cal Poly Pomona, Menlo at San Francisco State, UC Merced at Chico State and Cal State Monterey Bay at Cal State East Bay, all at 5 p.m. Cal State San Marcos will also host Chapman in a non-conference match at 5 p.m. Thursday. Friday's conference schedule features No. 4 Fresno Pacific at Stan State and Cal Poly Humboldt at Cal State LA, both at 5 p.m.

Saturday's seven-match conference slate includes Cal Poly Humboldt at Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills at Cal State LA, both at 2 p.m. No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino visits Cal State San Marcos, while Cal State Monterey Bay travels to San Francisco State, with both matches scheduled for 3 p.m. The weekend concludes with three 5 p.m. contests featuring UC Merced at Stan State, Menlo at Cal State East Bay and No. 4 Fresno Pacific at Chico State.

NCAA Division II NPI Rankings
The latest NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball National Power Index (NPI) rankings, through matches played Oct. 25, feature three CCAA teams among the top four in the West Region. No. 4 Fresno Pacific leads the region and ranks sixth nationally with an NPI value of 66.721, followed by Cal State San Bernardino at No. 7 nationally (65.702). Central Washington is third in the region at No. 19 nationally (61.882), followed by Cal Poly Pomona at No. 20 (61.763). Seattle Pacific (No. 31), Point Loma (No. 35), Biola (No. 37), Concordia Irvine (No. 38), Simon Fraser (No. 43) and Hawai'i Hilo (No. 47) round out the region's top 10.

Stan State is ranked 27th in the West Region with an NPI value of 45.083. The Warriors are one of 14 CCAA teams included in the regional rankings. The next NPI rankings will be released Nov. 2, with daily updates beginning thereafter until the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship selections on Nov. 15. The winners of the CCAA, Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) and Pacific West Conference (PacWest) tournaments will receive automatic berths to the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship, with the remaining berths awarded through at-large selections.

Scouting No. 4 Fresno Pacific
No. 4 Fresno Pacific enters Friday's CCAA match against Stan State with a perfect 21-0 overall record and a 9-0 mark in conference play. The Sunbirds are coming off a pair of victories during CCAA Pod Weekend No. 2, sweeping Cal Poly Humboldt (25-12, 25-18, 25-14) on Thursday before rallying for a five-set victory over Chico State (21-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-21, 15-11) on Saturday. Fresno Pacific is 10-0 at home, 8-0 on the road and 3-0 at neutral sites this season. The Sunbirds are hitting .305 as a team while averaging 14.05 kills, 12.64 assists, 2.01 service aces, 14.57 digs and 1.98 blocks per set. Fresno Pacific is holding opponents to a .176 hitting percentage and 11.42 kills per set.

Madelyn Feramisco leads Fresno Pacific with 217 kills, averaging 2.97 kills per set, while hitting .284 and adding 197 digs. Rylee Pitney follows with 173 kills (2.44 per set) while hitting a team-best .450 and recording 62 total blocks, including 13 solo blocks. Makayla Smith has contributed 134 kills (2.27 per set) and 119 digs, while Morgan Castaneda has added 114 kills while hitting .316. Mikayla Weiss directs the offense with 793 assists, averaging 10.72 assists per set, and has contributed 109 kills while hitting .363, 154 digs and a team-high 28 service aces. Defensively, Devyn Castaneda leads the Sunbirds with 345 digs, averaging 4.66 digs per set, while Itzel Aguayo has recorded 60 total blocks, including 12 solo blocks.

Stan State-Fresno Pacific Series
Fresno Pacific leads the all-time series with Stan State 6-3 dating back to Sept. 19, 2001. The Sunbirds won the most recent meeting in five sets, 25-17, 15-25, 23-25, 25-21, 17-15, on Sept. 5, 2025, at the Special Events Center in Fresno. Maggie Olson led the Warriors with 19 kills and 11 digs, while Fallon Freeman added eight kills and Christallynn Tate finished with seven. Leah Mendoza recorded a match-high 40 digs, while Lauren Hamilton led Stan State with nine total blocks. Shaelyn Pruiett finished with 18 assists, followed by Reagan Wilkerson with 14. Stan State finished with 47 kills, six service aces, 13 team blocks and 96 digs while holding Fresno Pacific to a .079 hitting percentage. Cambria Waites led the Sunbirds with 15 kills, while Makayla Smith added 12 and Mikayla Weiss recorded 42 assists. Devyn Castaneda finished with 25 digs for Fresno Pacific.

Prior to that match, Stan State had won three consecutive meetings, defeating Fresno Pacific in five sets on Sept. 3, 2021, in Fresno, sweeping the Sunbirds on Sept. 2, 2023, in Turlock and earning a four-set victory on Sept. 5, 2024, in Fresno. In the last meeting between the programs in Turlock, Stan State swept Fresno Pacific 25-22, 25-22, 25-22 on Sept. 2, 2023, at the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena. Emily Vander Weide led the Warriors with 11 kills while hitting .500 and adding three block assists, while Samaya Royal finished with eight kills while hitting .353. Alex Byrd and Ellison Weaver each contributed five kills. Haley Burdo recorded 21 assists and two service aces, while Gabby Rawson led the defensive effort with 20 digs and Rein Bocage added 13. Stan State hit .246 with 38 kills, 36 assists, six service aces and 61 digs while holding the Sunbirds to a .195 hitting percentage.

Fresno Pacific won the first five meetings between the programs from 2001 through 2005, including three victories in Turlock. Stan State is 1-3 all-time at home against the Sunbirds and 2-3 in Fresno. Friday's match will mark the first meeting between the programs as CCAA opponents and the first time Fresno Pacific has visited Turlock since 2023.

Scouting UC Merced
UC Merced enters Saturday's CCAA match against Stan State with a 5-15 overall record and a 2-7 mark in conference play. The Bobcats are coming off a pair of five-set setbacks during CCAA Pod Weekend No. 2, falling to Chico State (26-24, 19-25, 19-25, 25-16, 16-14) on Friday and Cal Poly Humboldt (25-18, 25-20, 16-25, 19-25, 15-12) on Saturday. UC Merced is 1-6 at home, 2-5 on the road and 2-4 at neutral sites this season. The Bobcats are hitting .168 as a team while averaging 12.15 kills, 11.18 assists, 1.58 service aces, 15.49 digs and 1.36 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .224 against UC Merced while averaging 11.88 kills per set.

Natalie Riley leads UC Merced with 218 kills, averaging 3.52 kills per set, while adding 137 digs and 11 service aces. Callie Neufeld follows with 206 kills (2.94 per set) and 148 digs, while Morgan Wilson has contributed 137 kills while hitting a team-best .200 and recording 36 total blocks, including nine solo blocks. Yahaira Vazquez has added 123 kills, averaging 2.16 per set. Kyra Miller directs the offense with 706 assists, averaging 9.17 assists per set, while contributing 198 digs, 26 service aces and 39 total blocks. Defensively, Jazmine Banks leads the Bobcats with 360 digs, averaging 4.62 per set, while Ayana Ruffin leads the team at the net with 41 total blocks, including four solo blocks.

Stan State-UC Merced Series
Stan State and UC Merced have split their two previous meetings, with both matches taking place during the 2025 season. The Warriors won the first meeting in four sets on Oct. 16, 2025, at the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena in Turlock before the Bobcats evened the series with a five-set victory on Nov. 6, 2025, at Greg and Cathie Hostetler Court in Merced. In the most recent meeting, UC Merced won the first two sets 25-22 and 25-20 before Stan State rallied to capture the next two sets 25-15 and 25-19. The Bobcats won the deciding fifth set 15-10 despite the Warriors holding a 61-49 advantage in kills, 11-8 edge in team blocks and 82-76 advantage in digs. Stan State hit .212 while holding UC Merced to a .112 hitting percentage. Teagan Irish led Stan State with 17 kills and eight total blocks, while Christallynn Tate added 11 kills and Malia Tanksley finished with 10. Shaelyn Pruiett recorded a double-double with 38 assists and 18 digs, while Leah Mendoza and Reagan Wilkerson each contributed 13 digs.

In the first meeting between the programs on Oct. 16, 2025, Stan State defeated UC Merced 25-27, 25-18, 25-13, 25-18 at Fitzpatrick Arena. Christallynn Tate led the Warriors with 16 kills, followed by Emily Meyer with 12 and Fallon Freeman with nine. Lauren Hamilton recorded seven total blocks, while Malia Tanksley added six and Irene London finished with five. Shaelyn Pruiett posted a double-double with 19 assists and 19 digs, while Reagan Wilkerson contributed 15 assists. Meyer and Mendoza each finished with 10 digs. Stan State hit .275 with 53 kills, nine service aces and 12 team blocks while holding the Bobcats to a .106 hitting percentage. The Warriors are 1-0 at home against UC Merced and 0-1 in Merced. Saturday's match will mark the third meeting between the programs and the second at Fitzpatrick Arena.

CCAA Sports on FloCollege
Fans can follow Stan State volleyball throughout the final four-match homestand of the regular season on FloCollege, the official streaming partner of the CCAA. All four home matches at the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena will be streamed live on FloCollege. This weekend, Kyle Morrison will be on the call for Friday's 5 p.m. match against No. 4 Fresno Pacific, while Levi Flores and Marie Stucker will provide the play-by-play and analysis for Saturday's 5 p.m. match against UC Merced. Fans can also follow the action through live stats on the Warrior Athletics website.

Up Next
Following this weekend's matches against Fresno Pacific and UC Merced, Stan State will conclude the regular season with two more home matches at the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena. The Warriors will host No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino on Friday, Nov. 6, at 5 p.m. before facing Cal State San Marcos on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. for Senior Day. Prior to Saturday's match, Stan State will recognize five seniors: Leah Mendoza, Irene London, Emily Meyer, Lauren Hamilton and Maggie Olson. Both matches will count toward the CCAA standings as the Warriors look to secure one of the seven berths in the 2026 CCAA Volleyball Tournament, beginning Nov. 10.