Box Score CHICO, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay volleyball team lost in four sets at Chico State Friday night (22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-22). This is the second time this season the Wildcats (17-9, 11-8 CCAA) have defeated the Pioneers (10-15, 5-13 CCAA) by a score of 3-1. East Bay jumped out to a lead by winning the first set and played pretty evenly with Chico State throughout the match, making them earn all three of their set victories. But after squeezing out a two-point win in the second set, the Wildcats were able to hang on and take care of business at home.

East Bay's best opportunity came late in the second set when both teams still had a shot at the win. But Chico State came out on top despite hitting just .083 with 10 attack errors. This swung to the momentum towards the Wildcats and propelled them to their most-lopsided win of the night, a seven-point third set victory that gave them a lead for good.

The defenses were on display, as neither team cracked the .300 attack percentage mark in any single set. Chico State was ultimately able to best the Pioneers in the major team stats, including hitting percentage (.192 to .169), kills (57 to 48), digs (88 to 73), and assists (54 to 44). Though several Pioneers turned in solid individual performances, the team was unable to hit over .200 until the fourth set.

Suzy Ni Xu continued her stellar play on both sides of the net and finished as East Bay's most efficient attacker. Xu led the team with 15 kills, five total blocks, and a .297 hitting percentage. Nikki Long also had a big night for the Pioneers, posting 11 kills with just three errors, good for a .258 hitting percentage. Xu and Long were the only two Pioneers to find consistent success on the attack.

Nicole Boyle was third on the team with seven kills. The senior added 15 digs, but had difficulties offensively, hitting just .086. Middle blockers Jade Sanford and Samantha Bruno notched three and four blocks, respectively. However, the pair didn't play a huge role offensively, combining for just nine kills on 38 attempts.

Libero Veronica Sanchez had seven assists and a team-high 23 digs, continuing to maintain her conference-leading dig average. Sanchez also led the Pioneers with three service aces on the night. Setters Danielle Stewart and Samantha Siebert each posted a double-double. Stewart totaled 17 assists and 11 digs, also adding four kills without an error, while Siebert notched 16 assists and 11 scoops. All in all, five different Pioneers reached double digits in digs.

East Bay did a decent job of keeping Chico State's Alex Shurtz – the leading scorer in the conference and three-time CCAA Player of the Week – in check, holding her to a .157 hitting percentage and forced her into a match-high 10 attack errors. Shurtz nonetheless managed to lead all players with 18 kills, while adding 18 digs. Lindsay Quigley had a big night, posting 11 kills and hitting a match-high .379. Wildcat libero Jessica Simms had 27 scoops, and setter Sable Villaescusa was all over the scoresheet with five kills, 44 assists, and 16 digs.

The Pioneers are back in action tomorrow night as they try to salvage their sixth consecutive weekend split at Cal State Stanislaus. The Pioneers will look to avenge a heartbreaking five-set loss to the Warriors earlier in the season. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Turlock.