Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. - Though Humboldt State forced a fourth set, the Cal State East Bay volleyball team held on to post the 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23) victory over the Jacks on Friday night at Pioneer Gym. The Pioneers (6-1, 2-1 CCAA) took advantage of a .240 hitting percentage and double-digit kills from Nicole Boyle, Katie Allen and Kitona Offord to open the weekend with the win.

“We played just well enough to get by tonight,” Head Coach Jim Spagle said.

The trio of Boyle, Allen and Offord combined for 40 of East Bay's 62 kills, led by Allen's 15 putaways. Allen notched a double-double on the night, adding 13 digs. Boyle posted a 13-kill, 18-dig double-double as well, while Offord led the team, hitting at a .381 clip and added 12 kills. Freshman Samantha Bruno had a breakout match, posting her second-highest hitting percentage of the season at .333 and tying her season-high with eight kills.

Kristin Neary and Danielle Stewart shared the setting duties again, leading the offense to a .240 hitting percentage, including 19 kills and a .306 clip in the third set. Neary dished out 32 assists on the night, while Stewart added 22, as well as 13 digs. Senior libero Leslie Ray posted a season-high 32 digs, while three players –Nikki Long, Bruno and Offord – led the Pioneers to seven team blocks with three total blocks apiece. Defensively, Boyle, Allen and Ray combined to commit just two errors on serve receive in 77 receptions.

“Leslie Ray, Nicole Boyle and Katie Allen were very solid in serve receive and Kitona Offord and Samantha Bruno played well offensively for us in the middle,” Spagle said.

Though the Jacks (3-5, 0-4) came into the match in last place in the CCAA, they put up a strong fight, winning the third set with their backs against the wall and never falling by more than five points in any set. The 25-20 victory in the third frame was just Humboldt's third of the league campaign. The Jacks were led by Alexa Rosendale's 14 kills and Oceana Matsubu's 13-kill, 13-dig double-double. Humboldt was also helped by Cal State East Bay's 14 service errors on the night. The two teams combined for 21 errors on the service line.

The first set saw the Pioneers jump out to an early lead and never look back. Though the Jacks went on a late 6-3 run with East Bay just four points from the victory, CSUEB finally closed out the set, relying on an error by Matsubu to take a 1-0 lead. The Pioneers held the Jacks to a .079 hitting percentage in the set.

The first half of the second set saw Humboldt take its first lead of the match and held an 11-7 advantage before Cal State East Bay answered back with six straight points to regain the lead for good. The Pioneers closed out the set with an 18-9 run led by four kills by Offord and another three from Morgan Hirzel.

Leading 2-0 at the break, the third set saw the Pioneers hit at their lowest percentage of the match, while the Jacks had their best-hitting set. HSU opened up an early lead, but never gained more than a one-point advantage early on. The two teams were tied 15 times in the set, but the last came at 16-16 before the Jacks reeled off three straight points to start a 9-4 run to finish the set and send the match to a fourth set.

The fifth set was all Pioneers, as they hit at a .306 clip, committing just four errors and getting five kills apiece from Offord and Allen and four from Bruno, while Ray dropped in three aces. The Jacks showed some fight at the end of the set, holding off match point with four straight points of their own before Boyle laid down the final kill to seal the victory for East Bay.

“Our right side and middle blocking must improve significantly, as well as our right back defense,” Spagle said. “We also had an uncharacteristically poor night in serving and we will need to get that back on track fast. Overall, we need to do a much better job of stopping opponents' momentum as we allowed too many points in bunches.”

Cal State East Bay faces another test on Saturday, when Sonoma State comes to Pioneer Gym at 7 p.m. The Seawolves (6-2, 4-0) sit atop the CCAA standings and posted a 3-1 win over Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday night.