Box Score Hayward, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay volleyball team was defeated for the second straight night by a CCAA foe on Saturday. The Pioneers (5-4, 0-2 CCAA) lost in three sets on the road against Sonoma State (8-2, 2-0 CCAA). The team is still in search of its first conference win of the year, and its road trip will continue next weekend down in southern California.

From the outset, the Seawolves showed why they were picked by the coaches to finish second in the conference this year. Sonoma State bested Cal State East Bay in team kills (42-22), assists (38-19), and digs (43-27). They also posted impressive attack percentages of .500, .357, and .312 in the three sets, out-hitting the Pioneers each time.

Head coach Jim Spagle put it bluntly. "We are struggling in all facets of the game," he said after the match. "We are not terminating, our serve receive is weak, and our serving has been below average."

Senior Nicole Boyle led the way for Cal State East Bay with five kills and seven digs, and Junior Suzy Ni Xu added five kills as well. Junior setter Samantha Seibert racked up 16 assists in the match to lead the team. The Pioneers received solid play up front, as middle blockers Brittany Dominguez and Samantha Bruno combined for seven kills on 16 attempts with just two attack errors.

Ultimately, the Pioneers were unable to establish any rhythm or consistency on offense. They also had a difficult containing Sonoma State's attacking pair Allyson Sather and Caylie Seitz, who each posted 11 kills.

The first set was a close contest at the beginning. The Seawolves took a lead, but the teams traded points for most of the set. After the Pioneers cut the deficit to 22-19, Sonoma State won the final three points to grab the first set, 25-19. They started to pull away after that, using three separate 5-0 runs to cruise to a 25-11 victory in the second set.

The final frame was closer, but the Pioneers were unable to dig themselves out of the hole. As a team, they hit just .106 for the match and dropped the third set, 25-16. "We were beaten by a vastly superior team tonight," said Spagle. "We need to get back to fundamentals, and get back on track fast."

Cal State East Bay will attempt to right the ship and grab its first conference victory next weekend as the team completes the second leg of its four-match road trip. The Pioneers will head south on Friday to take Cal State LA, followed by a match with Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday.