TURLOCK, Calif.--- After splitting a pair of non-conference matches during the CCAA Pod Weekend at home, Stan State returns to conference play this week with two road matches in the Bay Area. The Warriors (5-7, 1-2 CCAA) will face San Francisco State on Friday, Oct. 2, at 5 p.m. in San Francisco before traveling to Hayward to take on Cal State East Bay on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 5 p.m. The two matches begin a stretch of CCAA contests for Stan State after its matches against San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay during last week's pod did not count toward the conference standings.

Flowers Two Wins Away from 70
Lauren Flowers enters the week with a 68-56 (.548) record in her fifth season at the helm of the Stan State volleyball program and is just 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 .548 career winning percentage is 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 in program history to earn AVCA National Player of the Week honors.

Flowers has guided Stan State to three CCAA Tournament appearances in her first four seasons. The Warriors captured the program's first CCAA Tournament championship in 2024 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the
first time in program history. Stan State also established a program record with 22 victories during the 2024 championship season after tying the then-program record with 19 wins in 2022.

Weekend Recap
Stan State split its two matches during the CCAA Pod Weekend at the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena. The Warriors fell in three sets to San Francisco State, 25-21, 25-18, 25-23, in Thursday's home opener before responding with a five-set victory over Cal State East Bay, 27-25, 10-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-6, on Saturday.

Fallon Freeman led the Warriors over the two matches with 32 kills, averaging 4.00 per set, while hitting .412 and committing just four errors in 68 attempts. She capped the weekend with a career-high 23 kills and 15 digs against Cal State East Bay for her first double-double as a Warrior. Reagan Wilkerson totaled 59 assists and 32 digs during the weekend, including 43 assists and 21 digs in Saturday's victory. Lauren Hamilton added 14 kills while hitting .324 and finished with six total blocks. Stan State averaged 17.38 digs per set during the two matches and held a 139-132 advantage in digs.

Warriors in Review
Stan State enters the week 5-7 overall and 1-2 in the CCAA while hitting .189 through its first 12 matches. Emily Meyer leads the Warriors with 111 kills, followed by Lauren Gonzales with 98, Freeman with 88, Hamilton with 87 and Maggie Olson with 85.

Hamilton continues to lead Stan State with a .333 hitting percentage and has a team-high 48 total blocks, including 15 solo blocks. Wilkerson has a team-high 270 assists and is averaging 6.43 per set, while Ireland Avalos has 119 assists. Leah Mendoza leads the Warriors with 135 digs, followed by Gonzales with 132, Rylee Szyszka with 124 and Wilkerson with 103. Gonzales has a team-high 17 service aces, with Szyszka adding 15.

As a team, Stan State is averaging 11.50 kills, 10.44 assists, 15.31 digs and 1.87 blocks per set.

CCAA Leaders
Hamilton ranks sixth in the CCAA in both hitting percentage and blocks. Hamilton is hitting .333 with 87 kills and just 19 errors in 204 attempts. At the net, she has 48 total blocks, including 15 solo blocks, and is averaging 0.92 blocks per set.

Wilkerson ranks eighth in the CCAA in assists. Wilkerson has 270 assists through 42 sets and is averaging 6.43 assists per set. She is coming off a 43-assist performance in Stan State's five-set victory over Cal State East Bay.

Seeing Double
Stan State has received double-double performances from five Warriors this season. Wilkerson leads the way with six double-doubles, including two during the CCAA Pod Weekend. She had 16 assists and 11 digs against San Francisco State before recording 43 assists and a season-high 21 digs in the five-set victory over Cal State East Bay. Wilkerson now has eight double-doubles in her Warrior career.

Gonzales has four double-doubles this season, while Avalos has three as a Warrior. Szyszka recorded her first double-double with 11 assists and 19 digs at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Freeman joined the group Saturday, recording a career-high 23 kills and 15 digs against Cal State East Bay for her first double-double of the season and first as a Warrior.

Freeman's Career Night
Freeman turned in the best offensive performance of her Warrior career in Saturday's five-set victory over Cal State East Bay. Freeman recorded a career-high 23 kills with just three errors on 51 attempts for a .392 hitting percentage and added 15 digs for her first double-double as a Warrior. She also contributed three block assists and finished with a match-high 24.5 points.  Freeman was especially effective when the match was on the line, recording three kills on five attempts and hitting .600 in Stan State's 15-6 fifth-set victory. Her 23 kills were nearly twice her previous season high of 12.

Scouting San Francisco State
San Francisco State enters Friday's match 4-8 overall and 1-3 in the CCAA. The Gators split their two matches at last weekend's CCAA Pod in Turlock, sweeping Stan State 25-21, 25-18, 25-23 on Thursday before falling to Cal State East Bay in four sets on Friday. San Francisco State is hitting .199 and averaging 11.69 kills, 10.86 assists, 15.81 digs, 1.88 service aces and 1.58 blocks per set.
Grace Witcher leads the Gators with 142 kills and averages 3.38 per set, while Aidan Goodrich has 113 kills and Alana Larson has 96. Lilly Rix is hitting a team-high .307 and has a team-best 32 total blocks. Melanie Hewlett directs the offense with 306 assists, averaging 7.29 per set, while McKenzie Anderson leads the defense with 152 digs.

Stan State-San Francisco State Series
San Francisco State leads the all-time series with Stan State 25-9 since 2008 and has won the last three meetings. The Gators defeated the Warriors in three sets, 25-21, 25-18, 25-23, last Thursday in Turlock during the CCAA Pod Weekend. Friday's match will be the fourth meeting between the teams in less than a year.

The Gators won both meetings in 2025, defeating Stan State in four sets in San Francisco during the regular season before earning a five-set victory in the CCAA Tournament quarterfinals in Turlock. Stan State's most recent victory in the series came in the 2024 CCAA Tournament semifinals in Pomona, where the Warriors defeated San Francisco State in four sets, 25-21, 15-25, 25-23, 25-18.
Stan State is 3-13 against San Francisco State on the road since 2008. The Warriors' most recent victory in San Francisco came in 2016, when Stan State swept the Gators.

Scouting Cal State East Bay
Cal State East Bay enters Saturday's match 4-8 overall and 2-2 in the CCAA. The Pioneers split their two matches during last weekend's CCAA Pod in Turlock, defeating San Francisco State in four sets before falling to Stan State in five, 27-25, 10-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-6. Cal State East Bay is hitting .191 while averaging 11.85 kills, 10.79 assists, 16.02 digs, 1.90 service aces and 1.98 blocks per set.

Lamona Lauhingoa leads Cal State East Bay with 169 kills and is averaging 3.93 per set, while Barakat Adekola has 122 kills and 136 digs. Pi'ilani Carvalho directs the offense with 421 assists, averaging 8.77 per set, and also leads the Pioneers with 23 service aces. Kale'a Kuamo'o has a team-high 196 digs, averaging 4.08 per set, while Carys Fouser leads Cal State East Bay at the net with 44 total blocks.

Stan State-Cal State East Bay Series
Cal State East Bay leads the all-time series 22-20 since 2007, but Stan State has won seven of the last 10 meetings. The Warriors enter Saturday's rematch coming off a five-set victory over the Pioneers last weekend in Turlock, 27-25, 10-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-6. Freeman recorded a career-high 23 kills and 15 digs in the victory, while Wilkerson had 43 assists and 21 digs.

Saturday will mark Stan State's first trip to Hayward since Cal State East Bay defeated the Warriors in five sets last season. Freeman had 10 kills and hit .233 in that match, while Meyer added eight kills. Wilkerson recorded 23 assists and 11 digs for a double-double, and Mendoza finished with a match-high 30 digs. Gonzales added seven digs.

Stan State finished with 57 kills and 96 digs in last year's match, while Cal State East Bay had 63 kills and 95 digs. The Warriors hit .191 and held the Pioneers to .167, but Cal State East Bay finished with eight service aces and 11 total blocks.  Stan State is 6-15 against Cal State East Bay on the road since 2007. The Warriors' most recent victory in Hayward came in 2022, when Stan State defeated the Pioneers in four sets.

CCAA Sports on FloCollege
Both of Stan State's matches this weekend will be streamed live on FloCollege. Fans can watch the Warriors face San Francisco State on Friday, Oct. 2, at 5 p.m. in San Francisco and Cal State East Bay on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 5 p.m. in Hayward. All CCAA volleyball matches throughout the 2026 season are available on FloCollege.

Up Next
Following this weekend's road matches at San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay, Stan State returns to the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena for a pair of CCAA contests. The Warriors will host No. 14 Cal Poly Pomona on Friday, Oct. 9, at 5 p.m. before facing Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m. for Dig Pink.

Stan State then returns to the road to face Menlo College on Friday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m. in Atherton and Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m. in Seaside.

The Warriors will then travel to San Bernardino for their second CCAA Pod Weekend of the season. Stan State will face No. 9 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 matches will be played at Coussoulis Arena.