Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. - Behind 10 kills from junior Kitona Offord, the Cal State East Bay volleyball team secured its first victory of the CCAA season with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-19) sweep over Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday night. The Pioneers (5-1, 1-1 CCAA) held the Toros (1-5, 0-2) to under a .200 hitting percentage in each set and out-blocked Dominguez Hills, 10-3.

East Bay remained in control throughout the match, hitting at a .277 clip and serving up six aces, while holding Cal State Dominguez Hills to a .143 hitting percentage on the night. Offord was a force to be reckoned with in the middle, committing just one error in 17 attempts to finish with a .529 hitting percentage. Offord also added four digs and a pair of solo blocks in the win. Sophomore Katie Allen had an impressive night as well, finishing with eight kills and hitting at a .353 clip, while posting seven digs. 

"Kitona controlled the match from the middle hitter position and Katie Allen was rock solid at outside hitter and in serve receive," Head Coach Jim Spagle said. "Other than a hicccup in game two, I thought we played a very clean match."

Leslie Ray had another good night in the back row, finishing with 21 digs, while Kristin Neary and Danielle Stewart shared setting duties and combined for 29 assists. Several new faces got in on the action in the third set, with Samantha Maxwell making her Pioneer debut and Jade Sanford, who posted a pair of kills, Lauren Vestal and Lashay Cason checking in to finish out the match.

Set 1 – Cal State East Bay 25, Cal State Dominguez Hills 12
Cal State East Bay started the match off on the right foot, posting its best-hitting set right away. Though the Toros scored the first point of the set, the Pioneers responded quickly and jumped out to a 13-5 lead. East Bay never looked back, scoring 12 of the final 19 points and hitting at a .357 clip, with just three attack errors. Offord and Nicole Boyle led the Pioneers with four kills apiece, while Stewart dished out six assists. The Toros, on the other hand, hit just .111, committing five attack errors.

Set 2 – Cal State East Bay 25, Cal State Dominguez Hills 23
The second set saw the Toros look set to spoil the Pioneers' sweep plans. Cal State Dominguez Hills got out to an early 5-1 lead, thanks to four straight errors by East Bay. The Pioneers rebounded with a 9-7 run to cut the lead to two, 12-10, getting a pair of kills each from Offord, Bruno and Morgan Hirzel. From there, the two teams traded points, tying at 14, 15, 18, 20, 21 and 22 points. Locked at 22-22, the Pioneers took advantage of back-to-back attack errors by the Toros and closed out the set on an ace by Boyle to take a 2-0 lead.
Set 3 – Cal State East Bay 25, Cal State Dominguez Hills 19
The Pioneers finished off the sweep with a flourish, never trailing after building an early 7-2 lead. Though the Toros closed the gap to just two, 10-8, Cal State East Bay posted an 8-1 run to regain a stronghold, 18-9. The run saw the Toros commit six errors. A pair of service aces from Tatum Bales helped East Bay build a 23-13 advantage before Dominguez Hills answered with four straight points to cut the lead to six. A kill from Sanford put the Pioneers on the verge of the victory but a pair of points from the Toros staved off the loss. Up 24-19, Sanford came through again to close out the set and match.


"We need to really work hard on staying true to the systems we are running both offensively and defensively," Spagle said. "We have a lot of work to do with this group but at some point this season, the lightbulbs are going all go on at once and we will be off to the races."

The Pioneers return to action next weekend when they play host to Humboldt State and Sonoma State. Cal State East Bay and the Jacks are set for a 7 p.m. start at Pioneer Gym on Sept. 16.