Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay volleyball team sent senior Leslie Ray out on a high note, edging Cal State Stanislaus, 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18) in a close match on Saturday night at Pioneer Gym. The Pioneers (16-9, 11-9 CCAA) completed the season sweep over the Warriors and posted their second straight weekend sweep with the victory. 

Nikki Long and Morgan Hirzel paced the Pioneers with 11 kills apiece, with Long hitting at a .345 clip to lead the team. Offord joined Hirzel and Long in double figures with 10 kills to mark her fifth straight match with double-digit kills. Offord also added three total blocks, including two solo efforts. Danielle Stewart and Kristin Neary shared setting duties and combined for 42 assists, while Ray finished with 30 digs to bring her weekend total to 59 digs. 

Nicole Boyle posted 22 digs to notch her fifth straight match with double digit digs and added eight kills on the night. Katie Allen helped the Pioneers post eight service aces, dropping in four aces in the match. 

Neither team hit particularly well on the night, as both squads hit under .200 for the match. Every set was close, as the two teams played to 34 ties and had 15 lead changes in four sets. Rarely did either team lead by more than three points. The Warriors were led by senior Lianne Vicchio's match-high 15 kills and Jessica Lehner's 23 assists. 

Set 1 - Cal State East Bay 25, Cal State Stanislaus 21
The two teams traded points until 16-16 when the Pioneers scored five straight points to take a 21-16 lead. The run saw an ace from Allen and kills from Boyle and Stewart. The Warriors answered with a 4-1 run to cut the lead to just two, 22-20. East Bay finished with a 3-1 run to cap the first set, getting kills from Long, Boyle and Hirzel to take a 1-0 lead. Both Long and Hirzel posted three kills, while Ray notched six digs in the first set. The Pioneers hit at a .257 clip, while committing just three errors.

Set 2 - Cal State Stanislaus 25, Cal State East Bay 23
The Warriors opened the second set with an early 8-5 lead before the Pioneers went on an 8-5 run that saw Offord post two kills and Ray drop in an ace to tie the match at 13-13. The two teams traded back and forth to tie at 13, 16 and 19. East Bay took a two-point lead at 22-20, thanks to two kills from Long and another from Boyle. The Pioneers scored another two points to take a 23-21 advantage before four unanswered points from the Warriors, three of which came behind Jessica Lehner's serve, to tie the match at one game apiece at the break. 

Set 3 - Cal State East Bay 25, Cal State Stanislaus 19
Again the two squads traded points to 7-7, when the Pioneers went on a 5-1 run that included three attack errors by the Warriors and an ace from Allen to give East Bay a 12-8 lead. Stanislaus answered right back, however, with a 5-1 run of their own to tie the set at 13-13. Again the teams tied at 16 before the Pioneers took a 20-18 lead and then finished with a 5-1 run that culminated with a let serve from Allen that dropped in for an ace to give East Bay a 2-1 lead. The third set marked the worst hitting set for both teams, neither of whom hit better than .100, though the Pioneers finished with four total blocks in the set, including both of Offord's solo efforts.

Set 4 - Cal State East Bay 25, Cal State Stanislaus 18
Though the score was tied six times in the last set, the Pioneers only trailed early on and hit at a .342 clip -their highest of the match - in the final frame. East Bay took over and swung momentum its way at 9-7, when it kicked off an 11-5 run with an Offord kill. The run included two Hirzel kills and five errors by the Warriors. Leading 18-14, the Pioneers finished with a 7-4 run that concluded with an Allen ace and an error by the Warriors. 

Cal State East Bay returns to action next weekend, when it travels to UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino to close out the 2011 campaign. The Pioneers will meet the nationally-ranked Tritons and Coyotes on Nov. 11 and Nov. 12, respectively.