HAYWARD, Calif. — The Cal State East Bay volleyball won both of its matches on Saturday to finish as the only 4-0 team at the 2013 Route 92 Showdown. The Pioneers (4-4) won the tournament championship thanks to a three-set victory over Saint Martin's (1-7), followed by a four-set win over Seattle Pacific (4-4).

The tournament finale was highlighted by a 17-0 Pioneer run to open the fourth set behind server Katie Allen. After going winless last weekend in Oregon, East Bay won 12 of the 13 sets they played this weekend at Pioneer Gym.

"Katie's performance was pure magic," said head coach Jim Spagle after the match. "To serve 18 in a row is pretty remarkable. Her focus tonight was incredible at the service line, defensively, and in serve receive. She attained huge sideouts at critical times in the match. It was one of the single best performances I've had the pleasure of witnessing."

CSUEB 3, Saint Martin's 0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-9)

The Pioneers showed no sluggishness from Friday's doubleheader during Saturday's first match against Saint Martin's. The Saints got off to a good start and led 11-8 before junior Ashia Joseph served East Bay to six straight points and a 14-11 lead. The teams traded sideouts until the Pioneers led by just two at 18-16, but the home squad rallied to win seven of the final eight points to run away with the first-set win.

The second set was also a much closer affair than the final score indicates. With the score tied 10-10, junior Suzy Ni Xu slammed home a kill to give the Pioneers a narrow edge. East Bay never trailed in the match after that point, but the Saints made them work for it. A pair of SMU points made it 18-16 Pioneers, but East Bay rallied to go on a 9-3 run to end the set and pull away for the eight-point victory.

CSUEB maintained that momentum in the final set, hitting .412 as a team, while holding the Saints to –.071 (seven kills, nine attack errors). They won nine out of 10 points to jump out to a 10-3 lead, and the rout was on from there. Joseph served the Pioneers to six straight points, and they closed the match on an 11-3 run with Xu notching three kills.

Overall the Pioneers out-hit SMU .315 to .060, marking the third straight match they've topped .300 in attack percentage. East Bay played one of its cleanest matches as well, committing just eight attack errors and one receiving error. The team also racked up eight total blocks.

Xu posted a team-best .409 hitting percentage and led all players with 10 kills. Junior transfer Amber Hall had yet another impressive match with seven kills, eight digs, and a .375 attack percentage. In the middle, Brittany Dominguez added four kills and four total blocks, while Kitona Offord had three of each.

Joseph tallied 23 assists to go along with four kills, and three block assists. Allen posted seven scoops and contributed three kills. Junior libero Veronica Sanchez posted 16 digs, a match high.   

CSUEB 3, Seattle Pacific 1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-11)

In the first set of Saturday's final match against Seattle Pacific, East Bay showed signs of struggle for the first time all tournament. The Falcons' block had an answer for everything the Pioneer attackers were trying, and SPU jumped out to a 7-0 lead. East Bay rallied to tie the score at 11-11, but SPU came right back to win the next point. They never relinquished the lead after that, pulling away for the five-point victory and handing CSUEB its first set defeat of the weekend.

The Pioneers bounced back in the second set in a big way. After quickly falling behind 5-1, they clawed back and tied up the score at 13-13. With junior Samantha Bruno serving, East Bay proceeded to rattle off seven straight points, and they didn't look back from there. The team took advantage of several attack errors by the Falcons, who hit –.062 collectively in the set, allowing the Pioneers to win comfortably, 25-19.

The third frame was the tightest of the match. East Bay grabbed an early 6-2, which ended up being the largest for either team in the set. SPU rallied to win seven out of nine points to go ahead 9-8, and the teams traded points the rest of the way. After a 5-0 run turned a 19-16 deficit into a 21-19 lead, Pioneer Gym was rocking, and East Bay was able to gut out a two-point victory to claim a 2-1 advantage in the match.

The fourth set would be the final one of the tournament, as the Pioneers closed out their weekend in remarkable fashion. After a Falcon service error put CSUEB up 1-0, Allen stepped to the service line, and proceeded to serve East Bay to 17 consecutive points before SPU finally got on the board. When Allen's 18th serve landed just out of bounds for the Falcons' first point of the set, the Pioneer faithful in attendance gave the team a standing ovation. The Falcons were able to fight back and win seven of the next 10 points, but their deficit was loo large, and the Pioneers cruised to a 14-point victory.

Although the teams combined for 63 attack errors in the match, East Bay out-hit SPU handily, .138 to .019. Allen posted a double-double with a team-high 12 kills and 14 digs. Hall added 10 kills and hit .304 to lead the squad.

Xu turned in nine kills and seven digs, while fellow senior Hannah Bell notched three kills and nine digs. Bruno added seven kills to go with a team-best five total blocks, while Offord contributed six kills from the middle as well.

Joseph racked up 44 assists and finished the tournament with an impressive 11.38 assist average in four matches. Sanchez totaled 29 digs to lead all players. For the weekend, the junior averaged just under seven scoops per set.

Next weekend, the Pioneers kick off CCAA play by hosting Cal State Stanislaus on Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.


Photos of the Route 92 Showdown are available at KLCfotos.com.