Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Hayward, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team split its matches on Day #2 of the Route 92 Showdown to finish with a tournament record of 3-1. The Pioneers nearly came back from down 2-0 in their first match, ultimately losing in five sets to Northwest Nazarene. The team rebounded in the nightcap to defeat Cal Baptist 3-1, improving its overall record to 5-2.

Cal State East Bay played the front end of its doubleheader against the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders, who were coming off a 3-0 loss to Fresno Pacific earlier in the day. After falling behind 2-0, the Pioneers came roaring back to force a fifth set, but ultimately lost in a heart-breaker by just two points. Junior Suzy Ni Xu led the way for Cal State East Bay with 14 kills and 17 total points. Senior Jade Sanford had a break-out match, posting nine kills and six total blocks, while committing just one attack error. Junior Hannah Bell led the team with 23 digs, to go along with 11 kills and three aces.

The Pioneers got solid contributions from their senior outside hitters: Nicole Boyle had seven kills and 10 digs, while Nikki Long contributed eight kills and 11 digs of her own. Sophomore Veronica Sanchez and freshman Angie Maina split time as the libero, combining to dig out 20 balls. Junior Samantha Siebert and senior Danielle Stewart shared the setting duties, racking up 32 and 19 assists, respectively. Cal State East Bay also got strong play on defense, as sophomore Samantha Bruno posted five total blocks and senior Morgan Hirzel had four.

The Pioneers got off to a bit of a sloppy start in the first set, although it remained a tight contest throughout. The team was out-hit by Northwest Nazarene .295 to .196 and committed five attack errors, eventually falling 25-22. Xu was one of the lone bright spots early on, leading all players with seven first-set kills.

The second set was all Crusaders, as they used a six-point run to jump out to a 12-3 lead. The Pioneers went on a run of their own, but Northwest Nazarene countered, winning eight of the next nine points and never looking back. The Crusaders played nearly flawless volleyball in the second set, notching four blocks and hitting .433 as a team without an attack error. Cal State East Bay, meanwhile, made eight errors and had no answer for senior middle blocker Becky Flores, who racked up six kills in the set and 25 for the match.

Down 2-0, the Pioneers tried to gain some momentum early in the third set by grabbing a 5-1 lead. It proved to be most competitive set of the match, with both teams making five total blocks and the Crusaders edging the Pioneers in attack percentage, .163 to .135. Cal State East Bay got a strong effort from Long, who totaled four kills and three digs in the thrilling third set. The team scored four aces and took advantage of 11 attack errors by Northwest Nazarene, eventually prevailing 31-29 to extend the match.

Looking to even up the match, the Pioneers took control in fourth set, winning seven straight points to take a 12-5 lead. Cal State East Bay extended its advantage with strong play in the middle, once again notching five team blocks. They eventually cruised to a 25-19 victory behind four kills and seven digs from Bell and solid setting from Stewart. The Pioneers bested Northwest Nazarene in attack percentage for the first time in the match (.282 to .091), committing just three errors to the Crusaders' eight.

The fifth and deciding set was a hard-fought battle, but Cal State East Bay was unable to complete the comeback, falling victim to eight attack errors. With the score tied 13-13, the Pioneers committed a service error; on the following play, Northwest Nazarene's Kaitlyn Tuholski and Elayna Rice blocked Nikki Long's attack attempt, giving the set and match to the Crusaders.

In its fourth and final match of the weekend, Cal State East Bay took on Cal Baptist, which came into the contest with a 3-0 record for the tournament. The Pioneers' performance was like night and day compared to their earlier effort in the first match. Thanks to 60 team kills and a .311 attack percentage, Cal State East Bay outlasted the Lancers for a 3-1 victory.

Boyle led the Pioneers with 14 kills, 21 digs, and a .619 attack percentage. Sanford added 12 kills with just two errors, playing her best match of the young season. Xu added 12 kills, and Bell contributed eight, to go along with 12 digs. Maina tied for the team lead with 21 digs, and setters Siebert and Stewart combined to rack up 56 assists.  

In the first set, the Pioneers showed no lingering effects from their disappointing loss earlier in the day, taking control from the outset and winning comfortably 25-17. Cal State East Bay put up an sterling attack percentage of .324 for the first set. Offensively, the team was led by Xu, Boyle, and Sanford, who scored four kills apiece. Siebert and Stewart combined for 15 assists, and Maina was impressive with six digs as the starting libero.
   
Cal Baptist came back strong, and the two teams traded points in what was an evenly-matched second set. Sanford continued her inspired play, leading the way with five kills, but Cal State East Bay made a few too many errors. Cal Baptist won the final three points to grab a 25-22 victory and even up the match.

The Pioneers bounced back in the third set behind some efficient offensive play. The scoring was back-and-forth, but Cal State East Bay was able to pull out a close 25-23 victory behind four kills and five digs from Boyle. The Pioneers out-hit the Lancers handily (.353 to .154) and were able to overcome seven kills by Cal Baptist's Ingrid Carmona.

The fourth set proved to be the final one, as the Pioneers continued their strong offensive play and held on for a 25-21 win. The team posted its best attack percentage of the match (.382) thanks to four kills from Xu and another dominant performance from Boyle (five kills, five digs).

The victory improved Cal State East Bay's record in the tournament to 3-1, which ties them with Cal Baptist and Cat State Monterey Bay as runners-up of the inaugural Route 92 Showdown. Fresno Pacific managed a perfect 4-0 record to take the tournament title.

Boyle and Xu were rewarded for their efforts this weekend with all-tournament selections. Xu led the Pioneers with 48 kills in the team's four matches, while Boyle notched 37 total kills to go along with 61 digs and a .303 attack percentage. Below is a full list of all ten honorees:

2012 Route 92 Showdown All-Tournament Team
Kathleen Anderson (Fresno Pacific)
Julia Ashen (CSUMB)
Nicole Boyle (CSUEB)
Ingrid Carmona (Cal Baptist)
Becky Flores (Northwest Nazarene)
Rupia Inck (Fresno Pacific)
Jennifer Jasper (NDNU)
Kelly Ostello (SFSU)
Michelle Terpstra (Northwest Nazarene)
Suzy Ni Xu (CSUEB)

After a solid performance in their non-conference matches, the Pioneers will be back in action on Friday to open up their CCAA schedule.The team will make the short trek across the bay to take on San Francisco State at 7 PM.