Box score

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay volleyball team dropped a three-set decision (25-8, 25-10, 25-16) to No. 24 Sonoma State on Friday night at The Wolves' Den. The Pioneers (11-8, 6-8 CCAA) took the Seawolves to five sets in the teams' first meeting of the season, but could not find a rhythm on the road, giving Sonoma State its seventh consecutive victory. 

Katie Allen and Kitona Offord led the Pioneers with seven and five kills, respectively, with Offord swinging at a .571 clip. The pair were the only East Bay players to amass more than two kills. Several Pioneer reserves saw significant action including freshman setter Lauren Vestal who dished out a team-high 11 assists. Leslie Ray led East Bay with seven digs and was joined in the back row by Kristin Neary's six digs and Nicole Boyle's five. 

Cal State East Bay had its worst-hitting match of the season in the loss, swinging at a .048 clip. The Pioneers also had a season-low 22 kills and went without a block for the first time this campaign. On the other side, Sonoma State hit .460 with 47 kills and just seven attack errors on the night. 

Both of the first two sets belonged to the Seawolves, who never trailed in the opening two frames. The first set marked just the second time this season that the Pioneers have been held under 10 points. A hot-hitting Sonoma State team posted a .406 hitting percentage in the first set, which turned out to be its worst-hitting set of the match. Meanwhile, East Bay committed seven attack errors and finished with a negative hitting percentage. 

The third frame saw the Pioneers post their only lead of the match, opening the set with a Boyle kill. The lead was short-lived, however, as Sonoma State came storming back with seven unanswered points. The Seawolves would never trail again, en route to the 25-16 victory. The Pioneers did hold off match point at the end of the third set for three straight points, getting a kill from Allen followed by back-to-back putaways from Offord before a Sather kill sealed the win for Sonoma.

Cal State East Bay looks to get back on track tomorrow night at Humboldt State. HSU picked up their second win in four matches in five sets over Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday night. The Pioneers and Jacks are set for a 7 p.m. start at Lumberjack Arena in Arcata on Saturday.