Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. - Though it battled hard throughout and nearly pushed the match to a fifth set, an upset was not in the cards for the Cal State East Bay volleyball team on Friday night, falling to third-ranked Cal State San Bernardino, 3-1 (25-17, 24-26, 25-14, 25-22). The Pioneers (10-5, 5-5 CCAA) laid down 52 kills and posted five blocks, the undefeated Coyotes (15-0, 10-0) were better, hitting at a .351 clip and notching 12 blocks in the victory. 

“This team is very solid, but our consistency on the court must improve,” Head Coach Jim Spagle said. “We have to become far more resilient when things don't go our way and work diligently at turning a negative into a positive. With that said, though, I am proud of the way our athletes competed this evening. We just need to learn to finish strong and maintain our aggressive style of play.”

Leading an assertive attack for the Pioneers were sophomore Katie Allen and junior Kitona Offord, who combined for 25 of the team's 52 kills on the night. Allen paced the team with 13 putaways and added eight digs and an ace. Offord was East Bay's best hitter, swinging at a .476 clip and posting 12 kills and a block. Juniors Kristin Neary and Danielle Stewart again shared the setting duties, with Neary dishing out 35 assists and leading the team with three aces. Junior Nicole Boyle got in on the action as well, falling just one kill shy of a double-double with 13 digs and nine putaways in the match.

At the net, both Morgan Hirzel and Samantha Bruno stepped up to the challenge of the Coyotes' dangerous middle hitters, combining for seven total blocks along with 13 kills. Senior libero Leslie Ray led the defense, posting 22 digs and just one serve reception error in 23 chances. Allen was also a stellar passer, leading the team with 32 serve reception attempts and only one error.

The road to victory went through Cal State San Bernardino's impressive middle hitters, led by reigning AVCA Player of the Year Samantha Middleborn. The senior laid down 19 kills with just one error on the night, hitting at an astounding .720 clip. Not to be outdone, fellow middle blocker Megan Johnson put away 11 kills and bested Middleborn with a .769 hitting percentage in the match. Johnson also helped the Coyotes post a 12-5 advantage in blocks with eight block assists on the night. The pair were nearly unstoppable, committing just two attack errors and combining to hit at a .736 clip while adding 13 total blocks between them.

Morgan Carty gave the Coyotes a double-figure trifecta, laying down 10 kills while posting a double-double with 11 digs. Carty also added five total blocks and a pair of aces for CSUSB, while setter Camille Smith led all players with 42 assists and completed her own double-double with 10 digs.

It wasn't all fun and games for the Coyotes, though, who committed nine service errors and five blocking errors in the match. The Pioneers dropped in seven aces against the CSUSB backline, with three coming in the second set. East Bay also held off set-point for the Coyotes seven times in the match, including a string that saw the Pioneers score four straight points to not only stop CSUSB from gaining a 2-0 advantage but also to come from behind to win in the second set.

Set 1 – Cal State San Bernardino 25, Cal State East Bay 17
Cal State San Bernardino's middle hitters got to work right away in the first set, with Middleborn laying down six kills and adding two blocks. The Coyotes got out to a fast start, scoring five unanswered points to open the set and built an early 13-5 advantage. Though the Pioneers woke up and closed the lead to as little as five and never let CSUSB score more than three in a row from that point, their six errors and .097 hitting percentage couldn't overcome a strong opening set by the Coyotes, who hit at a .375 clip to start the match. Middleborn's hammer of a sixth kill of the set gave CSUSB a 1-0 advantage in the match.

Set 2 – Cal State East Bay 26, Cal State San Bernardino 24
In what would be East Bay's best-hitting set, the momentum began to shift early in the second frame, as the Pioneers gained their first lead of the match on a kill from Offord to take a 5-4 advantage. From there, neither team scored more than two points in a row, working their way to an 11-10 East Bay. CSUSB then went on a 6-2 run to gain a 16-13 lead. The Pioneers, however, answered back with and 8-2 run of their own, sparked by an ace from Lashay Cason, who came in off the bench, and two kills from Boyle. Trailing 21-18, the Coyotes took a timeout to regroup and came back to close the gap to one point before the Pioneers regained 22-20 lead on another Boyle kill. CSUSB responded again, reeling off four straight points to get to set point, 24-22. With their backs against the wall, the Pioneers put together four points, including three kills from Allen to pick up the set victory. East Bay hit at a .286 clip, getting five kills from Boyle who hit .833 and had no attack errors.

Set 3 – Cal State San Bernardino 25, Cal State East Bay 14
East Bay came out of the break a bit sluggish, committing seven attack errors and getting out-blocked 4-1 in the third set. The Coyotes on the other hand, hit .333 and had just two errors, while dropping in three aces. CSUSB never trailed in the set and after an early 1-1 tie, built a seven-point lead thanks to four errors from the Pioneers. Though East Bay responded with a 6-2 run to cut the CSUSB advantage to 13-10, three straight points from the Coyotes pushed the lead back to six and East Bay never got closer than that again. The Coyotes finished off the set with four straight points to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.

Set 4 – Cal State San Bernardino 25, Cal State East Bay 22
The final set saw Cal State East Bay get out to its first early lead of the match, building a 5-1 advantage on kills from Offord, Bruno, Allen and Boyle and an ace from Ray. The Coyotes responded with an 10-3 run that saw East Bay commit four errors and CSUSB reel off six points in a row. Trailing 11-8, the Pioneers pulled back momentum and the lead with a 5-1 run that included a block from Bruno and Hirzel and kills from Boyle and Hirzel to put East Bay back up, 13-12. Momentum shifted back in the Coyotes' favor thanks to three straight points to start a 6-3 run that gave CSUSB an 18-16 lead. Though the Pioneers tied the set at 18 and again at 19 – two of nine ties in the fourth frame – the Coyotes pulled ahead, 23-19, with four unanswered points. The two teams then exchanged points to put CSUSB just one point away from the match victory. The Pioneers weren't done, though, as they got back-to-back kills from Bruno and Allen to cut the lead to just two, 24-22, before Middleborn laid down the final blow to keep the Coyotes undefeated on the year.

Cal State East Bay will look to bounce back tomorrow night, when it hosts No. 16 UC San Diego. The Tritons (10-4, 6-4) dropped their third straight match in four sets to Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday night. UCSD has lost four of its last five and is set for a 7 p.m. first serve at Pioneer Gym on Saturday night.