Box Score Hayward, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay volleyball team lost on the road to Cal State Dominguez Hills in five sets Saturday night (18-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10). It was the fourth straight loss to open conference play for the Pioneers, who return to the bay area for a much-needed homestand next weekend. Cal State East Bay now sits at 5-6 for the season, and they'll need to flip the momentum quickly to have a chance to make noise in an extremely competitive CCAA.

“This team just needs to continue to work hard,” said head coach Jim Spagle after the match. “The effort is there, but the execution must continue to improve.”

Despite the defeat, the Pioneers played probably their best conference match of the season. Although battling an ankle injury, senior Nicole Boyle led East Bay offensively with 16 kills, also adding seven digs. Junior Suzy Ni Xu was right on her heels, posting 15 kills and six total blocks. Junior Brittany Dominguez turned in her most impressive match of the season, filling up the score sheet with 10 kills, zero errors, five digs, and four total blocks, to go along with a .526 attack percentage.

Sophomore libero Veronica Sanchez tallied 27 digs and seven assists. Junior Samantha Siebert and senior Danielle Stewart shared the setting duties, with Siebert posting 26 assists to go along with 13 kills, and Stewart adding 19 assists. Junior Hannah Bell continued to contribute offensively, notching eight kills and seven digs.

The match started off well for the Pioneers, as the team did a better job limiting its mistakes. Leading 17-16, East Bay went on a 10-2 run to close out the first set. Cal State Dominguez Hills (5-6, 3-1 CCAA) came back strong in the second set, jumping out to a 12-4 lead. The Pioneers clawed back and brought the score to within two, but the Toros were able to hang on and win the set by three points to even up the match at 1-1.

The third set was probably the tightest contest of the night. Neither team played particularly efficiently on offense, and the two traded points for most of the set. Trailing 19-15, the Pioneers went on a 9-4 run to grab the advantage in the match by a slim two-point margin. Unfortunately, that would be the high point for Cal State East Bay, as the Toros came storming back in the final two sets, refusing to be defeated on their home court.

With a chance to put the match away, the Pioneers battled back from down 17-11 in the fourth set. However, Cal State Dominguez Hills won the last four points to put a stamp on the fourth set and stay alive in the match. The Toros came out strong in the final set, pulling away from Cal State East Bay to grab the comeback victory. They saved their best play for the end, with the backs against the wall. As a team, Whitney Lee led the way for the Toros with 16 kills, six total blocks, and a .519 attack percentage. Abbey Prusa hit .483 with 14 kills and zero errors, and Elizabeth Kreiger added14 kills to go along with a team-high 20 digs. Setter Dana Brown led all players with 57 assists for the match.

Cal State East Bay hit .232 as a team and out-hit Cal State Dominguez Hills in three of the five sets. The Toros, however, tightened up their play when it counted, committing just two team errors in the final two sets. Cal State Dominguez Hills hit .447 in the fourth set and .588 in the fifth set.

The Pioneers return home for two matches this weekend. They'll host Humboldt State on Friday in search of their first CCAA victory of the season.