MONMOUTH, Ore. — The Cal State East Bay volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Thursday during the first day of the Western Oregon Invitational. The Pioneers fell to No. 17 Western Washington in three sets in the season opener, and then dropped a four-set match to the host Wolves in the evening.

The tournament continues on Friday with two more matches as the Pioneers look for their first victory of 2013. The team will take on Metro State at 10:30 a.m. followed by Minnesota State-Mankato at 5 p.m.

#17 Western Washington 3, CSUEB 0 (34-32, 25-18, 25-9)

The opening set of the first match of the season was certainly a memorable one, taking 66 total points to decide a winner. The Pioneers got off to a hot start against the nationally ranked Vikings, out-hitting them .383 to .321 in the first set and holding a slight lead most of the way.

There were 29 ties and 10 lead changes in the first game, but East Bay held a 24-22 lead with a chance to go up 1-0 in the match. However, a rotational error helped WWU tie it up 24-24. The teams traded points in what became a marathon set before WWU finally prevailed 34-32.

The Vikings controlled the match the rest of the way. They out-hit CSUEB .310 to .167 in the second set en route to a 25-18 victory. Service errors hurt the Pioneers in the third frame, and WWU posted a .421 hitting percentage, both of which contributed to a 25-9 third-set victory for the Vikings.

Overall, the Pioneers hit .231 as a team, and several players looked promising in the season's first match despite the three-set loss. Reigning CCAA Newcomer of the Year Suzy Ni Xu hit .381 and led the team with 10 kills. Senior middle blocker Kitona Offord posted nine kills in her first match after missing all of 2012 with an injury.

Junior outside hitter Katie Allen also took a medical redshirt last year, and she made her presence known right away in 2013 with eight kills and seven digs. Newcomer Amber Hall added five kills and committed just one attack error in her first match as a Pioneer. Senior Brittany Dominguez had a strong performance in the middle, also notching five kills against one attack error.

In her first match as East Bay's starting setter, junior Ashia Joseph led all players with 27 assists to go along with eight digs. Junior libero Veronica Sanchez posted 11 digs, tied for the most by any player.

Western Oregon 3, CSUEB 1 (16-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-21)

The Pioneers got off to another hot start in the second match of the day against the tournament host. The Pioneers used a 10-1 run to grab a 16-10 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. They out-hit Western Oregon .286 to .129 and won the first set running away.

The second set was more of a back-and-forth affair, and after a 4-0 run by East Bay, the score was tied at 23-23. Looking to take a commanding 2-0 set lead, the Pioneers dropped the last two points to even up the match. From there, WOU took the momentum and edged out the Pioneers in the final two sets.

Xu once again led the way for East Bay, racking up 16 kills to lead all players in the match. Senior Hannah Bell posted seven kills and a match-high 19 digs. Joseph tallied 27 assists for the second straight match, also adding three kills and 14 digs.

Offord and Dominguez had six kills apiece, with the latter notching four total blocks and the former adding two. On the back line, the Wolves spent much of the match serving away from Sanchez, who had eight digs. Sophomore Angie Maina dug out 11 balls and played all four sets.