Box Score FAIRBANKS, Alaska - The Cal State East Bay volleyball team opened the 2012 campaign with a bang, topping Notre Dame de Namur, 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-21), to kick off the Nanook Classic at the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Friday night. Senior Nicole Boyle led the Pioneers, posting a double-double to help East Bay start the season with a 1-0 record going into Saturday's matches against Findlay and the host Nanooks.

Boyle laid down 11 kills to lead all players, while adding 11 digs to finish second on the team. Sophomore Samantha Bruno led the Pioneers, hitting at a .455 clip and posting four total blocks, while adding four digs and seven kills on the night.

Senior outside hitter Nikki Long also contributed, hitting at a .385 clip with six kills, while newcomers Hannah Bell, Veronica Sanchez and Suzy Ni Xu made the most of their first appearances for the Pioneers. Bell notched four aces, six kills and eight digs, while Sanchez paced the team with 13 digs and Xu added two blocks and six kills.

Neither team hit particularly well, with the Pioneers swinging at a .196 clip and the Argonauts hitting .021 with 20 attack errors in the match. East Bay held NDNU under a .100 hitting percentage in each set and held a 16-kill advantage for the match.

Notre Dame de Namur opened the match with an 8-3 lead thanks to some early errors by the Pioneers. East Bay began chipping away at the lead, going on a 10-7 run, getting three kills from Long during that span to pull within two, 15-13. Though the Argonauts regained a three-point lead, the momentum had swung the Pioneers' way, as they reeled off seven straight points behind Danielle Stewart's serve to take a 23-19 lead in the first set. Five NDNU errors in the final nine points of the match sealed the 1-0 lead for East Bay.

The second set was all Pioneers, who took an early 5-1 lead on kills by Boyle and Xu and three Bell service aces. After gaining a 12-6 advantage on a Bruno kill, East Bay never led by fewer than six points again in the set. The Pioneers finished the set with four more kills from Boyle and another ace from Bell, who also laid down the set-winning kill to give them the 2-0 lead.

The two teams traded points early on in the third set until the Pioneers held a 10-9 lead before scoring five straight points with three coming on Bruno kills. East Bay held onto a five-point lead to 21-16 before the Argonauts made a comeback, scoring three-straight points to cut the lead to just two, 21-19. After trading points again, the Pioneers led 23-21 before a Bruno kill and an NDNU error gave East Bay the three-set victory.

Cal State East Bay returns to action to close out the Nanook Classic tomorrow. The Pioneers will meet Findlay at 12 p.m. PT before taking on the host Nanooks at 8 p.m. PT in the tournament finale. Both games will be streamed live and live stats will be available here.