Box score

CARSON, Calif. - On the strength of a career night from sophomore Katie Allen, the Cal State East Bay volleyball team rebounded from a first-set loss to take down Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-18), on Friday night at the Torodome. The Pioneers (11-6, 6-6 CCAA) hit at a season-high .326 clip and were led by Allen's career-high 21 kills and .436 hitting percentage, along with Kitona Offord's 13 kills and two solo blocks.

Allen was nearly unstoppable in the victory, committing just four errors in 39 attempts and adding eight digs. The Modesto native also contributed a pair of aces to bring her team-leading season total to 34. Offord also impressed, posting just two errors in 28 attempts and helping the Pioneers out-block the Toros, 7-4, with three total blocks. Nicole Boyle came just two kills shy of posting her seventh double-double of the season, notching 16 digs and laying down eight kills on the night.

Morgan Hirzel and Nikki Long also contributed in the victory, putting away seven and six kills, respectively, with Hirzel adding a pair of blocks to the mix. Samantha Bruno helped out on the block, as well, with a team-leading four total stuffs on the night. Kristin Neary and Danielle Stewart shared setting duties, with Neary dishing out 33 assists and Stewart adding 21. Neary also helped the Pioneers at the service line, posted a pair and combining with Offord and Allen to post six of the nine Pioneer aces on the night.

Defensively, libero Leslie Ray led all players with 17 digs, joining with Boyle and Neary to contribute 31 of East Bay's 60 digs on the night. Ray also was perfect on serve-receive in 20 chances, while Boyle and Allen combined for just three errors in 41 serve receptions.

In addition to committing just 18 errors in 138 attempts en route to a new season high in hitting percentage, the Pioneers also set a new season standard for kills in a four-set match with 63. After a slow start in the first set in which it hit .206, East Bay never hit below .300 in a set for the rest of the night, while holding the Toros to a .189 hitting percentage and 43 kills.

Though the Pioneers and Toros were tied six times in the first set, four of those ties came in the first 10 points of the frame. Dominguez Hills never trailed in the set and put together four runs that saw it reel off at least three unanswered points. East Bay had its worst hitting set of the match, committing seven errors, while the Toros posted 15 kills and swung at a .355 clip in the opening set.

After trading points in the second set to come to a 10-10 tie early on, the Pioneers settled in and posted a 10-3 run to take the lead for good in the set. The run saw Allen post five kills and add an ace to account for six of the 10 points. Leading 20-13, East Bay allowed the Toros to close the gap to six before tying the match 1-1 with kills from Offord and Stewart.

Tied 1-1 at the break, the Pioneers got down to business in the third set, never trailing and allowing zero ties in what would be their best set of the match. East Bay hit at a .406 clip, making just two attack errors and posting four aces in the set. The Pioneers held the Toros to just 15 points and nine kills in the third frame and led by as many as 12 points. Offord and Allen combined to score 11 of the 25 points, getting four kills from Offord in the last six Pioneer points of the set. Four of East Bay's nine aces on the night came during the third set as well, including a Neary ace to seal the victory and give the Pioneers a 2-1 advantage.

Though Dominguez Hills was down, it was definitely not out in the fourth set, as it forced seven ties and three lead changes in the final frame. After trailing 3-1 early on, the Pioneers put together four straight points to take its first lead of the set, 5-3. Though the Toros got within one, East Bay regained a three-point lead on an ace from Allen. CSUDH wasn't done yet, though, as it went on a 5-1 run of its own to take back the lead, 11-10. The Toros held onto the lead, 13-12, through a brief back-and-forth before Allen came through again with a kill that tied the match at 13 apiece and started a run that began with six unanswered points and finished with East Bay leading 24-17. The Pioneer run saw the Toros commit five attack errors, while East Bay got two kills each from Allen, Boyle and Hirzel. Serving for match point, an error from Allen extended the match another point before Nikki Long laid down the final kill of the set and match to give East Bay the season sweep over the Toros.

The Pioneers are back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Cal State LA looking for redemption from an earlier home loss to the Golden Eagles that started the CCAA season. The two teams are set for a 7 p.m. first serve at the Eagles Nest.