Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. - Behind 13 kills and four aces from sophomore Katie Allen, the Cal State East Bay volleyball team handed Notre Dame de Namur its 16th loss of the season in three sets (25-21, 25-16, 25-11) on Tuesday night at Pioneer Gym. The Pioneers (10-4) posted their second victory of the season over the Argonauts (2-16), hitting at a .302 clip and dropping in nine aces on the night.

Allen tied East Bay's season-high for kills in a three-set match and helped the Pioneers post nine aces in the match, just one off from the highest total of the season. The Modesto native has already surpassed her team-leading aces total from her rookie campaign and is leading the team with an average of 2.54 kills per set.

Kitona Offord, Nikki Long and Samantha Bruno each added six kills in the match, with Bruno hitting at a team-leading .385 clip. Long posted a pair of blocks, including one solo effort, while Offord added a pair of blocks to help the Pioneers out-block NDNU, 5-1. East Bay's setting duo of Kristin Neary and Danielle Stewart dispersed the ball well again, with Neary leading the way with 25 assists and Stewart adding 13. Senior libero Leslie Ray posted a match-high 19 digs, while Nicole Boyle added 15 digs, five kills and three aces.

Notre Dame de Namur was led by Jennifer Jasper's nine kills, while Brooke DeMiguel and Christina Villamayor posted seven kills apiece. Bailey Agnello dished out 24 assists for the Argonauts and Paulina Akiona led the defense with 14 digs. NDNU hit at just a .137 clip, committing 16 attack errors in 102 attempts. The Argonauts also struggled on serve-receive, posting nine errors in 62 chances.

Set 1 - Cal State East Bay 25, Notre Dame de Namur 21
Though neither team came out on fire, the Pioneers built an early 13-8 lead thanks to a balanced attack that saw Allen, Long, Boyle, Offord and Samantha Bruno all contribute. Despite the lead, East Bay had already committed three of its seven errors in the set. A kill from Jasper and an ace quickly closed the gap to just three, 13-10, before the Pioneers reeled off three straight points on kills from Allen and Boyle an NDNU attack error. With East Bay leading by six, the two teams exchanged points through 22-16 when the Argonauts responded to the pressure, closing the gap to four with a 3-1 run. The last gasp wasn't enough, however, as the Pioneers closed out the set on a block from Bruno and Boyle and a Morgan Hirzel kill, taking a 1-0 lead in the match. Both teams committed seven attack errors in the match and neither hit better than .200. Allen, Jasper and DeMiguel each posted four kills to start the match.

Set 2 – Cal State East Bay 25, Notre Dame de Namur 16
Though the second set saw four ties and a pair of lead changes, the Pioneers turned their attack on in the second frame, hitting at a .314 clip and committing just three attack errors, while dropping in four aces. The Argonauts answered with their best-hitting set, posting 11 kills and hitting .200 in the set. All four ties came in the first 12 points of the set, with NDNU notching its only lead of the set at 5-4 before the Pioneers went on a 13-5 run, sparked by service aces from Allen and Neary. During the run Long posted a pair of kills, while the Argonauts committed two attack errors. Leading 17-10, the Pioneers got four of their last eight points from Allen to secure the 2-0 advantage at the break. 

Set 3 – Cal State East Bay 25, Notre Dame de Namur 11
After Notre Dame de Namur took a 1-0 lead to open the third set, the Pioneers grabbed the reins and dominated the final set. East Bay had its best-hitting set of the match, swinging at a .424 clip and committing just two errors. Five Pioneers had at least two kills and no errors in the final set, led by Allen's five kills and Long's perfect 2-for-2 effort on the attack. Neary dished out 11 of her 25 assists in the third set and Ray added three assists and eight digs. Beginning with a kill by Bruno to tie the set at 1-1, East Bay scored seven unanswered points, including six behind Boyle's serve. During the run, Allen laid down two kills and Boyle dropped in a pair of aces. After NDNU scraped back to within five points at 10-5, the Pioneers never led by fewer than six points for the remainder of the set. Both Lashay Cason and Jade Sanford saw time off the bench in the third set, combining for three kills and a block assist and sparking the Pioneers to their final nine points in the victory.

The victory marked the fifth sweep of the season for Cal State East Bay, which finished the non-conference portion of its schedule on Tuesday night with an undefeated record of 5-0. The Pioneers dropped just three sets against non-conference teams this season, with all three coming during East Bay's tournament victory at Humboldt State to open the season.

Cal State East Bay will jump back into the conference season with a true test this weekend when it welcomes a pair of ranked teams in No. 3 Cal State San Bernardino and No. 16 UC San Diego. The two teams sit atop the CCAA standings, with the Coyotes coming into a three-match week with an undefeated record. The Pioneers and Coyotes are set for a 7 p.m. first serve at Pioneer Gym on Friday, which will also mark the third annual Dig for a Cure Night to support breast cancer research. Saturday, East Bay and UCSD will meet at 7 p.m. at Pioneer Gym. The two squads will first face off with each other on Wednesday night at UC San Diego.