Box score

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay volleyball team closed out the regular season with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-9) loss at the hands of undefeated and top-ranked Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday night at Coussoulis Arena. The Pioneers (16-11, 11-11 CCAA) kept it close in the first set, but could not hold off an impressive Coyote squad, that picked up its 27th consecutive victory with the sweep.

Sophomore Katie Allen led the Pioneers' offensive efforts, posting seven kills and adding four digs. Kitona Offord and Nicole Boyle contributed six kills apiece, with Boyle also posting 10 digs and Offord notching four total blocks. Leslie Ray notched 14 digs on the night, while Kristin Neary and Danielle Stewart combined for 23 assists. 

Samantha Middleborn nearly broke Offord's CCAA single-match record for hitting percentage, swinging at an .857 clip with 12 kills and no errors in 14 attempts to lead Cal State San Bernardino. Middleborn also added eight total blocks, including two solo efforts, while Morgan Carty notched eight kills and a team-leading 12 digs. 

As a team, the Pioneers struggled to find a rhythm posting a new season-low .037 hitting percentage and were out-blocked 12-5 in the match. On the other side, the Coyotes hit .407, committing just eight attack errors on the night. 

The first set was the most competitive of the match, as neither team led by more than four points until the end of the set. Tied at 10, the Coyotes put together a 5-1 run to take a 15-11 lead before the Pioneers answered with a 7-4 run of their own to cut the lead back to one, 19-18. The East Bay run saw Allen notch a pair of kills and Offord add a kill and combine with Boyle on a block. The Pioneers would only score one more point, however, as the Coyotes posted five unanswered points to reach set point. Though East Bay held off set point with a Boyle kill, CSUSB followed with a kill to take a 1-0 lead. 

The second set saw a pair of early ties before Cal State San Bernardino took conrol and opened up a 10-5 lead. Though the Pioneers cut the gap to four at 11-7, the Coyotes went on a 7-3 run to take an eight-point lead. San Bernardino closed out the set on a 7-3 run that included five straight points to reach set point. Again East Bay fought off the final point with a kill from Lashay Cason, but Carty finished the set with a Carty kill. 

The Coyotes never trailed in the third set and put together several extended scoring streaks including an eight-point run late in the set. The Pioneers posted their second-lowest set total of the season in the final frame and hit at a negative clip in the set, thanks to seven Cal State San Bernardino blocks. 

Cal State East Bay closes out the season in fifth place in the CCAA and will lose just one senior - Leslie Ray - to graduation.