Box Score SAN FRANCISCO --- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team was beaten on the road by San Francisco State in a five-set marathon on Friday night (27-25, 22-25, 25-21, 14-25, 15-11). With the win, the Gators (13-16, 8-13 CCAA) sweep the season series over the Pioneers (11-18, 7-14 CCAA). For East Bay, it's their fourth straight defeat and drops their record in five-set matches to 1-3. 

The Pioneers were out-hit by the Gators .189 to .135 and out-blocked 11 to three. SF State did help out East Bay with 14 service errors (the Pioneers had seven), but East Bay made 31 attack errors, matching their season high. 

The Pioneers recorded 14 more digs than their opponents and set a season high with 95 as a team. CCAA leader Veronica Sanchez racked up 30, her second-most in a match this season. Ashia Joseph established a career best with 17 scoops, and Angie Maina matched her season-high with 14.

Overall the CSUEB defense was strong on the back line and lacking at the net, but their offense sturggled to find a rhythm most of the night. The lone exception was Suzy Ni Xu, who led the team with 17 kills. It was the 16th time the senior has reached double figures this year.

Amber Hall had 11 kills to go along with eight digs. Kitona Offord added seven kills with just one attack error. Katie Allen notched six kills as well as a pair of service aces. Samantha Bruno and Brittany Dominguez posted five kills each from the middle blocker position.

Joseph tallied 49 assists to lead all players, Hannah Bell contributed eight digs off the bench, and Sanchez filled out her score sheet with four assists and three aces. 

The first set was a heartbreaker for Cal State East Bay. The score was tight throughout, but the Pioneers found themselves with set point, leading 24-22. However, they weren't able to close it out as the Gators won three straight to stay alive and claimed the set 27-25 in extra points. 

The Pioneers showed a great deal of resolve to come back and win an equally close second set. They managed to erase an early 13-8 lead by the Gators, but were actually trailing 21-18 heading down the stretch. From there, East Bay mounted its best rally of the match. They won three straight to force an SFSU timeout, and then claimed the last four points to win the set 25-22.

The Gators bounced back after intermission to re-take the advantage in the match. They rattled off a 7-0 run early and a 6-0 late. The Pioneers tried to rally back, but they came up short, hitting just .020 in a four-point loss.

In the fourth frame, the Pioneers blew SF State out despite posting a modest .182 attack percentage. However, the Gators managed just 14 points and six kills. East Bay started on a 5-0 run, and then later they won nine of out 10 points to turn a 12-9 lead into an insurmountable 21-10 lead.

The teams seemed destined for five sets after such a remarkably back-and-forth match, and they switched sides midway through the frame with the score 8-7. Unfortunately, any momentum the Pioneers had after their fourth-set blowout faded away, and the Gators won six of the final nine points to edge East Bay out and claim the match. 

The Pioneers finish up the 2013 season tomorrow night with a road match against No. 15 Sonoma State.