Box Score
TURLOCK, Calif. --- The Cal State East Bay women's volleyball team fell on the road in four sets to Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday night. The Pioneers (7-14, 3-10 CCAA) have dropped three straight. The Warriors (7-14, 4-9 CCAA) pick up their second consecutive victory by narrowly out-hitting East Bay .201 to .199 for the match.
Suzy Ni Xu had 11 kills, four digs, four total blocks, and hit .370 to lead the Pioneers. The team's leading scorer made just one attack error on the night.
Amber Hall notched a double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs.
Katie Allen contributed seven kills, eight digs, and three total blocks, while
Samantha Bruno posted seven kills to go with four total blocks.
The CCAA's two leading players in terms of dig average did battle tonight.
Veronica Sanchez racked up 21 scoops to lead the Pioneers, while conference leader Sarah Crowl notched 31 digs.
East Bay setter
Ashia Joseph had 35 assists and eight digs.
Kitona Offord added three kills and three total blocks, and fellow senior
Brittany Dominguez turned in four kills and four total blocks.
East Bay had an outstanding match at the net, out-blocking the home team 13 to 1. However, the Warriors bested the Pioneers in total kills (56 to 44), total errors (40 to 34), total assists (51 to 39), and total digs (70 to 61).
The Pioneers showed some grit in the first set and finally got the points they needed down the stretch to secure a win. After Jocelyn Cervantes made three straight errors, East Bay led 11-8, but the Warriors countered with a run to take a 17-14 lead. From there, the Pioneers won nine of the final 10 points -- the last five with Sanchez serving -- and held on for the five-point win. East Bay out-hit Stanislaus .292 to .071 in the opening frame, but unfortunately, they weren't able to maintain that trend.
The Warrior attackers made some adjustments in the second set, and the Pioneers didn't have an answer. The score was tied 8-8 early on, but then CSUS went on a 4-0 run and never relinquished the lead. The home team prevented East Bay from mounting a significant rally en route to a 25-17 victory to even the match. The Pioneers hit .069 in the second game and posted just seven kills.
In the crucial third set, it was an extremely tight contest with neither team leading by more than three points. A pair of Warrior attack errors tied the score at 21-21, giving both squads an equal chance to grab momentum in the match. However, Stanislaus managed to score four straight kills and pull away for the third-set win.
Leading 2-1, the Warriors closed out the match by out-hitting East Bay .244 to .167 in the fourth and final set. It was close in the early-going, and the Pioneers actually held a 12-11 lead. But the home team rallied to win seven straight points to grab an 18-12 advantage, and they wouldn't give up the lead the rest of the way. The Pioneers made a run to draw within three, but it wasnt enough as Stanislaus finished off the four-set win with a five-point victory in set four.
The Pioneers are back on the road next weekend. They travel north to Arcata to take on Humboldt State on Thursday night before making their final trip to southern California to meet Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday night.
