Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay volleyball team lost a tightly-contested match at home to Sonoma State on Friday night by the score of 3-1 (25-20, 27-29, 25-18, 25-22). Although the team played well, it's the second straight loss for the Pioneers (7-12, 2-10 CCAA) after they defeated Cal State San Bernardino a week ago. Now they have a quick turnaround for Saturday's “Battle of the Bay” match against San Francisco State, hoping to build upon what was a solid offensive performance despite the loss.

The Pioneers matched the Seawolves (14-6, 8-4 CCAA) nearly blow for blow, and the stat totals reflect that. Cal State East Bay hit .259 for the match (to Sonoma State's .288) and actually committed fewer total errors than the Seawolves. The Pioneers hurt themselves with 10 service errors, but trailed just 62-55 in team kills. As has sometimes been the case this year, East Bay was just unable to put their opponents away at the end of sets.

The first set was the sloppiest offensively for both teams, with each hitting under .200. The Seawolves rode a strong performance by Caylie Seitz to take the 1-0 lead. The Pioneers roared back in the second set behind Suzy Ni Xu's effective hitting, posting a team attack percentage of .441 and hanging on to win a thriller in extra points. Sonoma State answered back by hitting .531 in the third set – the most one-sided of the match – to regain the advantage. The fourth and final frame was extremely close, but Ally Sather dominated with six kills and the Pioneers were unable to pull out a win to extend the match.

Xu had an excellent match attacking from the opposite side for East Bay, leading the team with 16 kills and hitting .406. Junior Hannah Bell and senior Jade Sanford added nine kills apiece, with Bell also posting 10 digs. Senior Nicole Boyle managed just six kills on 32 attempts, but led all players with 20 digs. Sophomore libero Veronica Sanchez was right on her heels in that category, adding 19 digs.

Sophomore Samantha Bruno had an effective night on both sides of the net for the Pioneers, notching five total blocks and six kills without an error. Senior Nikki Long added seven kills and two blocks. The setting duties were split down the middle for the match, as junior Samantha Siebert and senior Danielle Stewart each totaled 23 assists.

For Sonoma State, Seitz led all players with 17 kills and 47 attempts. Sather, the Seawolves' leading attacker for the season, contributed 14 kills and hit .303. Madelyn Densberger and Regan Richert each put up eight kills with just one error, and Kelsey Hull posted the only double-double of the match with 12 kills and 12 digs.

Cal State East Bay has another tough assignment tomorrow when they host the Gators of San Francisco State for the annual “Battle of the Bay.” The Pioneers will look for a repeat of last season, when they defeated SF State at home. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. form Pioneer Gym.