Box Score LA JOLLA, Calif. --- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team dropped its fifth straight match on Friday night, losing in four sets on the road to UC San Diego, the 11th-ranked team in the nation (25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 25-10). The Pioneers (6-10, 2-6 CCAA) lost despite a match-high 16 kills from Suzy Ni Xu. 

The Tritons (14-2, 6-2 CCAA) out-hit East Bay .275 to .199 for the match and posted a .474 attack percentage in the clinching fourth set. They had three players with double-digit kills, led by Danielle Dahle with 15. The Pioneers actually recorded more kills (53 to 51) and assists (52-50) than UCSD, but they made 23 attack errors (to the Tritons' 15) and nine reception errors (to the Tritons' three).

Xu hit .325 for the match, and it was her fifth straight reaching double figures in kills. Her 16 kills matches her season high, set against Western Oregon. Samantha Bruno had nine kills and hit .348 to lead the team, making just one attack error. Kitona Offord tallied nine kills as well, and paced the Pioneers with three block assists. Hannah Bell also notched nine kills to go along with 16 digs.

Setter Ashia Joseph racked up 46 assists in four sets and contributed 10 digs. Libero Veronica Sanchez had a team-best 18 scoops. Katie Allen added five kills, while Amber Hall posted four kills and eight digs. 

The first two sets were extremely close, and had the opening set gone the Pioneers' way, they might have been primed to pull an upset. East Bay jumped out to a 15-10 lead as Xu and Bell slammed home two kills each, but the Tritons quickly rallied. They won six straight points to take a 23-20 lead and hung on to capture the first set by three despite CSUEB recording 18 kills.

The second set was deja vu, to an extent, as East Bay once again grabbed an early advantage. They led 7-1 out of the gate and clung to a 14-9 lead midway through the frame. But the Tritons proceeded to win seven straight to go up 16-14, and then the teams traded points until it was tied 21-21. From there, UCSD won four out of five to put the Pioneers away in the second set.

Despite two potentially demoralizing losses, the Pioneers came back to play their best game and extend the match with a four-point win in the third set. The scoring was extraordinarily close as neither squad led by more than two points. This time, the end went in East Bay's favor. With the score tied 20-20, the Pioneers won five of the last six points, closing out the win on a kill by Bell. They hit an impressive .424 as a team in the third frame.

Unfortunately, that was the high point of the match for East Bay, and it seemed to kick UCSD into another gear. The Tritons jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the fourth set and never let up. They won 11 of the final 12 points -- including the last seven -- to claim the match, their fifth straight win overall.

The Pioneers are back in action tomorrow night at No. 16 Cal State San Bernardino. First serve is at 7 p.m. as East Bay tried to repeat its road victory over the Coyotes last year.