Box Score LA JOLLA, Calif. – One night after their most impressive and satisfying win of the year, the Cal State East Bay volleyball team lost in four sets at UC San Diego (22-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-15). For the Pioneers (7-11, 2-9 CCAA), it was their third straight loss in which they led after the first set. But after a tight, well-played first set, the Tritons (13-6, 8-3 CCAA) took over and won the next three frames handily. The Pioneers miss an opportunity to win back-to-back matches for the first time in conference play, but after the weekend split, they still head north having secured their first road victory.

UC San Diego out-hit Cal State East Bay by a substantial margin for the match (.349 to .176). The Pioneers had one great set and didn't play as cleanly after that, while the Tritons improved their play – and their attack percentages – as the match went on. The team stats pretty much tell the story, as UCSD easily bested East Bay in kills (58 to 45), assists (55 to 40), and digs (61 to 45), while committing fewer attack errors (21 to 14).

It was a fairly modest night offensively for the Pioneers. Junior Suzy Ni Xu led the way with 11 kills, although the team's leading scorer hit just .194. This became a theme for the night, as the top Pioneer attackers were unable to convert kills at a high enough rate. Junior Hannah Bell posted 10 kills on a team-high 34 attempts and added nine digs. Senior Nicole Boyle had four digs and three blocks, but it took her 24 attempts to get her seven kills. Senior Jade Sanford played two outstanding matches this weekend and was one of the lone bright spots tonight, hitting .375 with seven kills.

Senior setter Danielle Stewart had one of her most effective matches, notching a double-double for the second straight night. She led the Pioneers with 17 assists and 10 digs, her first time this year leading the team in digs. Junior Samantha Siebert contributed 15 assists along with six digs.

Cal State East Bay came out of the gate strong, hoping to carry over the momentum from the previous night. They hit .311 in the first set and made just four errors, holding on for the victory despite UCSD playing a solid set themselves. The Tritons pulled away after that, as the Pioneers couldn't crack the 20-point mark the rest of the way. UCSD won seven of the final nine points to capture the second set and even up the match. The tide really tuned for the Pioneers in the third frame, when they hit .000 for the set and notched just six kills.

The Pioneers improved their play in the fourth set as they tried to come back and extend the match. But with the score tied 15-15, Amber Hawthorne served the Tritons to 10 consecutive points. UCSD saved their best for last, hitting .538 in the final set and making it look more one-sided than it was. Ultimately, the Pioneer attack disappeared long enough to allow UCSD to take advantage, but East Bay can take solace in the fact that they forced the Tritons to play an outstanding offensive match to beat them.

Two UCSD attackers posted double-doubles on the night. Sophie Rowe led all players with 16 kills to go along 13 digs, while Danielle Dahle racked up 14 kills and 15 digs. The middle blockers dominated for UCSD. Sara McCutchan had 10 kills and six total blocks, and Kameron Cooper added eight kills with three blocks. Perhaps most significantly, the four Tritons mentioned above had the most attempts for UCSD on the night, and all four hit over .300 for the match. Setter Amber Hawthorne racked up an impressive 52 kills to go along with eight digs.

The Pioneers conclude the first half of their CCAA schedule with a record of 2-9. They return home to Hayward next weekend to kick off the second half of conference play, and the time is now to begin climbing up the standings. East Bay hosts Sonoma State on Friday and San Francisco State on Saturday, with both matches set for 7 p.m. at Pioneer Gym.