Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay volleyball team took the first two sets from No. 16 UC San Diego before the Tritons pulled off an astounding comeback to claim a 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-12, 25-21, 15-13) victory in five sets on Saturday night at Pioneer Gym. Though the Pioneers (10-6, 5-6 CCAA) out-hit UCSD and had three players post double-digit kills, the Tritons (11-4, 7-4) won the final three sets to avoid extending their losing streak to four matches and finish the first half of the conference season with a win.

In a match where neither team hit at a high percentage, the Pioneers finished with 57 kills – their third-highest total this season – to out-do the Tritons, whose kills per set average entering the week ranked 12th in all of Division II. Sophomore Katie Allen and juniors Nicole Boyle and Kitona Offord led the way, combining for 43 of East Bay's 57 putaways. The trio provided a balanced attack for the Pioneers, who got 46 assists from junior Kristin Neary, her second highest total of the season. Allen laid down 16 kills and notched 10 digs, while Boyle had 14 kills and 17 digs leading to a pair of double-doubles, their fifth and sixth of the season, respectively. Offord was again efficient on the attack, leading all players by hitting at a .312 clip with 13 kills and posting a match-high five total blocks.

In the back row, Leslie Ray posted a team-high 25 kills and got help from Boyle and Allen, as well as Tatum Bales, who came off the bench to provide some stellar defense with 17 digs, a new season-high for the sophomore. Neary also posted a double-double, adding 13 digs to her 46 assists and two total blocks. UC San Diego managed just one more block than the Pioneers, who got help in the middle from Morgan Hirzel with three blocks and six kills and Samantha Bruno, who tallied five kills and one block assist.

UCSD's Hillary Williamson and Lauren Demos paced the team with 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Williamson completed the double-double with 26 digs to lead the team, while three other players – Brittany Lombardi, Roxanne Brunsting and Janessa Werhane – posted double-figure digs to allow the Tritons to live up to their top ranking in the conference in digs per set. Brunsting and Amber Hawthorne shared the setting duties, dishing out 26 and 21 assists, respectively. Both Brunsting and Williamson posted solo blocks to help the Tritons finish with an 8-7 advantage at the net. UC San Diego also took advantage of a poor serving night from the Pioneers, who had 13 service errors, while dropping in eight aces of its own, led by Williamson's four.

Neither team got off to a particularly hot start, as they combined for 16 attack errors in the first set, with UCSD hitting at a negative percentage to start the match. In a close set that saw 14 ties and eight lead changes, the Pioneers and Tritons exchanged points early on until East Bay had gained an 11-9 advantage on back-to-back points. Neither team had scored more than three points in a row up until that point, when UCSD laid down two kills and took advantage of two errors by the Pioneers to build their own two-point lead.

The four unanswered points kicked off a 10-3 run that saw four attack errors and two reception errors from East Bay that gave UCSD a 19-14 lead, their largest of the set. A timeout from Head Coach Jim Spagle refocused the Pioneers, however, as they came out of the break to score 11 of the final 13 points of the match. A kill from Offord kicked off a run of five consecutive points that included three attack errors by UCSD and a block by Offord and Neary. Though the Tritons broke the dry spell on a service error, East Bay got a kill from Boyle to tie the match at 20-20. UCSD then took its final lead of the set before the Pioneers reeled off five straight points for the set one victory, capped by a hammer from Bruno on a pass over the net.

The second set was the Pioneers' best-hitting set of the match, as they committing just one attack error to swing at a .385 clip. On the other side, UCSD improved on its negative percentage in the first set, but still hit just .146 with seven hitting errors in the second set loss. The Tritons built an early 6-2 lead, thanks in part to four Pioneer errors, before East Bay answered back with a 9-2 run that included three Boyle kills and a solo block from Allen and gave it an 11-8 lead. UCSD showed its fight, though, getting a 7-3 run of its own sparked by the addition of Lizzy Andrews to the attack. Andrews laid down a pair of kills in her first appearance in the match, helping the Tritons gain a 15-14 advantage.

East Bay wasn't discourage, however, as it reeled off three straight points on a UCSD error and kills by Hirzel and Allen, to regain the lead for good. Despite two timeouts from UCSD and a pair of late points at 23-18, the Pioneers came through thanks to a pair of kills each from Offord and Boyle and four Triton attack errors down the stretch. With the victory, East Bay took a 2-0 lead into the break.

UCSD came out of the break with something to prove, taking control and never relinquishing the third set early on. The Tritons hit .257 in the third frame, while holding the Pioneers to an .053 clip and just seven kills – their worst-hitting set of the match. Despite holding the lead twice in the early going, East Bay never quite got into a rhythm in the set and after falling behind 17-7 after a 10-1 UCSD run, the Pioneers scored just five more points in the set.

East Bay got out to an early lead in the fourth set, 3-0, before the Tritons responded with a 13-3 run to take a 13-6 lead. The slow start for the Pioneers included five attack and two reception errors in a set that saw East Bay make nine attack errors. Trailing by seven, the Pioneers began to claw their way back into the set, getting three of its next seven points from Boyle to pull within four, 17-13. The Tritons continued to answer each East Bay point and led 24-18 and was serving for set point before the Pioneers held them off with kills from Long and Bruno to cut the lead to just three, 24-21. UCSD, however, was determined to force the fifth set, scoring the final point it needed on a kill from Williamson to send the match into the deciding fifth set.

Things didn't go well early on the fifth set, as the Pioneers quickly found themselves in a 10-5 hole after seven errors in the opening 15 points. East Bay managed to move back within four, but the Tritons continued to answer each point, inching closer to the match-deciding 15 with a 12-8 advantage.

Williamson moved the Tritons back ahead by two with her 14th kill of the night before the Pioneers reeled off four straight to add a little excitement back into the set. The streak saw UCSD commit four errors and Hirzel and Offord combine for a block to close the gap to one, 13-12, for the first time since 6-5. Though the Tritons broke the scoreless spell with a kill, East Bay looked poised to pull off the upset after Offord and Hirzel came up with another block to cut the lead to 14-13 and hold off match point. UCSD cut off all comeback hopes in the next rally, however, getting a kill from Lauren Demos to seal the come-from-behind victory and end its three-match losing streak.

Cal State East Bay will look to start off the second half of the CCAA campaign on a high note, as it takes to the road next weekend to meet Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State LA for the rematches of the league opening set. The Pioneers and Toros are set for a 6 p.m. first serve in Carson on Oct. 14, while the Golden Eagles will look to complete the season sweep at 7 p.m. on Oct. 15 in Los Angeles.