Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay volleyball team became the first team this conference season to take two sets from Sonoma State, forcing a decisive fifth set against the first-place Seawolves before falling 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-11) on Saturday night at Pioneer Gym. The Pioneers (6-2, 2-2 CCAA) led 2-1 through three sets but saw the streaking Seawolves (7-2, 5-0) finish out the match with back-to-back victories in sets four and five.

“Our effort and intensity were much better tonight,” Head Coach Jim Spagle said. “Even though we have nothing to show for it, we stayed true to our system and were consistently better at maintain our focus.”

Kitona Offord's 14 kills and .435 hitting percentage paced the Pioneers in the defeat, as the junior middle blocker made just four errors in 23 attempts while adding four total blocks. Junior Nikki Long had her best performance so far, laying down 10 kills and hitting at a .333 clip with only two errors and contributing two block assists on the night.

“Nikki Long had an excellent night for us and our right side defense was significantly better than last night,” Spagle said. “Our kids competed tonight. Now we just have to learn how to win those fifth games.”

Defensively, the Pioneers posted 90 total digs, led by senior libero Leslie Ray's 29 digs, marking her fourth straight match with 20 or more digs. Sophomore Katie Allen and junior Nicole Boyle each added nine kills and 15 digs apiece, while setter Kristin Neary completed a 24-assist, 11-dig double-double. Danielle Stewart shared the setting duties with Neary, dishing out a season-high 26 assists on the night. Ray was again impressive in serve receive, making just one error in 38 chances in the back row.

The Pioneers out-blocked Sonoma State 9-5, led by Samantha Bruno's five total blocks. Neither team hit particularly well, with the Seawolves just out-hitting East Bay at a .198 clip to the Pioneers' .186 percentage. Sonoma State had three players reach double figures in kills, led by Keala Peterson's 16-kill, 13-dig double-double. Allyson Sather and Kelsey Hull joined Peterson in double digits with 13 and 15 putaways, respectively.

Set 1 – Sonoma State 25, Cal State East Bay 18
Though the Seawolves got out to a fast start in the first set, building an early 6-3 lead, the Pioneers answered back, tying the set at 11-11, thanks to five errors by Sonoma State. SSU then went on a 9-4 run to open up a 20-15 advantage, laying down three service aces and getting three kills from Peterson along the way. Though East Bay looked to rebound, scoring a pair of points, the Seawolves finished off the set with three kills from Hull and a final putaway from Peterson.

Set 2 – Cal State East Bay 25, Sonoma State 20
The hard-fought second set saw 12 ties and seven lead changes, with the two teams trading points early on. Neither team scored more than two points in a row in the first 17 points of the match, when the Pioneers held a 9-8 advantage. The Seawolves then reeled off three points to take an 11-9 lead before East Bay put together a 8-3 run that saw Offord and Long combine for six of those points. Leading 17-14, the Pioneers gave up four straight points to give SSU an 18-17 advantage before shutting down the Seawolves and going on an 8-3 run to finish the set.

Set 3 – Cal State East Bay 25, Sonoma State 20
After another early exchange of points, the Pioneers and Seawolves were knotted at 7-7 until East Bay reeled off six straight points, thanks in part to three errors by Sonoma State. Leading 13-7, the Pioneers never trailed again, taking advantage of six more errors by the Seawolves, who hit just .114 in the set. Though Sonoma State had a late 4-0 run, East Bay finished the set with back-to-back points to take a 2-1 lead.

Set 4 – Sonoma State 25, Cal State East Bay 17
The fourth set was all Sonoma State, as the Seawolves got out to an early 13-9 lead. The Pioneers answered with a 4-2 run before a final 10-4 run by Sonoma State sent the game to the fifth set. The Seawolves finished off the set with seven straight points, including a pair of kills from Hull.

Set 5 – Sonoma State 15, Cal State East Bay 11
Through the first 19 points of the final set, neither team led by more than one point. The two squads exchanged points early, leading to nine ties and four lead changes during that span. Knotted at nine points apiece, Sonoma State took the first two-point lead with kills by Regan Richert and Peterson. Lindsay Lytle followed with the Seawolves' fourth straight point to give them a 12-9 advantage. Though the Pioneers closed the gap to two points at 13-11 thanks to a pair of kills from Allen, Sonoma State used a kill from Hayley Ross and two East Bay errors to seal the set and match.

Cal State East Bay returns to action next week, when it travels to Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday for its first CCAA road trip of the season. The Pioneers then head to San Francisco State on Saturday, Sept. 24. East Bay returns home on Sept. 27 to host travel partner Cal State Monterey Bay.