Box Score Hayward, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay volleyball team completed a three-set sweep of Humboldt State on Saturday, capping it off with a dominating third-set performance (25-19, 25-19, 25-2). It was the first conference victory of the season for the Pioneers (6-7, 1-5 CCAA), who snap a five-match losing streak. East Bay has now won its last seven matches against Humboldt State (2-11, 0-7 CCAA) since joining the conference in 2009.

After a difficult-to-swallow home loss the previous night, the Pioneers came out strong from the outset and controlled the match. They out-hit the Jacks in all three sets and posted a .284 attack percentage for the match. Cal State East Bay bested Humboldt State in team kills (31-20), assists (31-18), digs (38-29), and blocks (9-1). Perhaps most importantly, the Pioneers committed just 20 total errors and forced their opponent into 43.

“Our block was the real difference-maker tonight,” said head coach Jim Spagle after the match. “That was good to finally see. Our kids have been working very hard, and it was great to see that hard work finally translate into a victory.”

Cal State East Bay received solid performances from just about every player on the court on Saturday. Sophomore Samantha Bruno led the team with 10 kills, two blocks, and a .571 attack percentage. Junior Suzy Ni Xu, senior Nicole Boyle, and junior Hannah Bell added eight, five, and four kills, respectively, committing just two errors apiece. Boyle added nine digs, but her most impressive effort was behind the service line. She tallied four service aces and at one point in the third set, served for 18 consecutive points.

Junior Samantha Siebert handled the majority of the setting and racked up 22 assists. Senior setter Danielle Stewart added seven assists and five digs, while sophomore libero Veronica Sanchez paced the squad with 13 digs. Senior Jade Sanford was impressive defensively, posting five total blocks.

For Humboldt State, it was a struggle offensively throughout the match. As a team, the Jacks hit -.077. Alexa Rosendale was the leading attacker, posting seven kills. Setter Kelci Renshaw had 13 assists to go with three kills. Humboldt State came into the match leading the CCAA with better than two service aces per set, but the team had just three aces against the Pioneers.

Cal State East Bay got off to a strong start in the first set, hoping to erase the bitter taste from the night before. The team hit .292 for the set and pulled away at the end thanks to a huge effort from Bruno, who tallied four kills. The second set was a bit sloppier for both squads, with neither hitting over .100. The Jacks jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but East Bay clawed back to quickly even the score. Tied 9-9, the Pioneers went on a 7-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish and grab a 2-0 advantage in the match.

Cal State East Bay carried that momentum into the third set and turned in its most dominating performance of the season. As a team, they played errorless volleyball and hit a staggering .632 for the set. Bruno and Xu led the way with four kills apiece and Siebert racked up 11 assists. The Pioneers needed only three servers to defeat the Jacks 25-2, one of the most one-sided scores in the program's history.

Despite the remarkable and much-needed victory, Coach Spagle is already looking forward. “We need to play with that same focus and determination on Tuesday night at Monterey,” he added. “This will be a very important match for us.”

The Pioneers hit the road again for a mid-week match before returning home for two more next weekend. East Bay will travel to Cal State Monterey Bay on Tuesday, looking to build on tonight's win, with the match set for 7 p.m.