Cross country prepares for CCAA championships at home, losing streak continues for volleyball and soccer has a mixed weekend
Tuesday’s press conference at Lumberjack Arena featured comments from the cross country, volleyball and soccer teams this week.
Cross Country
The HSU cross country teams are preparing for one of the most significant home meets in recent history. The Jacks host the CCAA conference championships Saturday morning at the Baywood Golf and Country Club in Arcata. The Jacks have an advantage in knowing the course after hosting the Humboldt Invitational in September. However, the stakes will be a bit higher as the Jack runners will be running for the chance to go to the NCAA regional meet on November 9. Senior runner Daniel Tull talked about the excitement of hosting such a big event for HSU.
“It’s really exciting for me,” Tull said. “I know a lot of runners personally that compete at different CCAA schools, so it’s cool to have them come up and show them what we’ve got here.”
Volleyball
The HSU volleyball team continues to produce frustrating results despite putting a good effort out there for each match. Last Friday, the Jacks traveled down to Los Angeles to take on Cal State LA and they were swept in straight sets, losing the match 3-0. The short journey over to Carson to take on Cal State Dominguez Hills didn’t result any better. Despite taking a set, the Jacks ended up losing the match 3-1, falling to 5-11 on the season. The good news for the Jacks is that they don’t have to deal with the rigors of travel for a while as they head into a five-game homestand. Head Coach Kelly Wood during the press conference talked about the relief of being able to play at home, noting that her athletes can focus on schoolwork and get back into their normal routine.
The next match for volleyball is Thursday at 7pm vs. Cal State San Marcos at Lumberjack Arena.
Women’s Soccer
The Jacks were at home last weekend taking on Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay. Friday’s match against East Bay was a frustrating one for the Jacks, as East Bay scored twice, but in the 82nd minute Pikake Hix was able to score a spectacular goal from distance to make it 2-1. Sunday’s match against Monterey Bay was a back and forth battle that would see the match go into overtime tied 0-0. Just one minute into overtime Kendal Spencer slipped the ball past the diving goalkeeper to win the game for the Jacks, 1-0. For Spencer, this goal held a special significance apart from winning the game, as she had just returned from being held out of playing with a concussion.
“I couldn’t go to practice or anything,” Spencer said. “So then coming back I was so fired up to make a contribution.”
Both men’s and women’s soccer will head to Southern California to take on Cal Poly Pamona and Cal State San Bernardino this weekend.
Men’s Soccer
The Jacks had a mixed weekend taking on East Bay and Monterey Bay at College Creek Field. Offense was on full display against East Bay on Friday, and the jacks won 4-2 behind a two-goal effort from Isiah Dairo. Sunday was a different story and the Jacks lost 2-1 to Monterey Bay despite Gus Baxter converting on a penalty kick. Head Choch Fred Jungemann was happy with the team played over the weekend, and said that the team played well on Sunday against Monterey Bay, but couldn’t put the ball in the net.
