Box Score SAN BERANRDINO, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team dropped a tighty-contested four-set match at No. 14 Cal State San Bernardino in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play on Saturday night (19-25, 25-23, 26-28, 21-25). It marks the eighth straight loss for the Pioneers (5-13, 2-11 CCAA) and the fifth straight win for the nationally ranked Coyotes.

CSUEB defeated San Bernardino in Coussoulis Arena in 2013, and the squads played a five-set thriller in Hayward back in September, but the Pioneers weren't quite able to rekindle that same magic tonight, depite a career night from Samantha Bruno.

The Pioneers entered the match having lost 21 straight sets, and that trend continued in the early going, as the home team jumped out to a 16-7 lead. The Pioneers rallied down the stretch to keep the score close, but CSUSB totaled 18 kills and hung on for a six-point win in game one.

East Bay finally snapped its streak in game two, which ended up being almost the opposite of the first set. This time, the Pioneers grabbed the early lead at 12-5. The Coyotes countered with a 5-0 run, but the visitors refused to give in. East Bay held San Bernardino to .159 hitting in the frame, and the squads traded points the rest of the way until it was tied 23-23. Then, for the first time in weeks, the Pioneers got the points they needed to close out the set as Amber Hall and Bruno smashed back-to-back kills.

Unfortunately, the feeling of victory was fleeting for CSUEB. Game three was incredibly tight as the teams stayed within a few points of one another throughout. Cal State East Bay made just three attack errors in the set and hit .341 -- by far their best of the four sets -- but it wasn't enough to pull away from the Coyotes. Once again the squads found themselves tied at 23-23, but this time they traded kills and went to extra points at 25-25. Hall recorded a kill to give the Pioneers game point, but San Bernardino came storming back and claimed the final three points for the 28-26 win.

The fourth set began as another tight one, and East Bay actually led 16-15 at the midway point. But from there, Tori May -- who finished with 18 kills -- served the Coyotes to a 6-0 run, and the home team never looked back as they closed out the match.

The final stats were relatively close, as San Bernardino edged out East Bay in hitting percentage (.224 to .219), kills (62 to 54), and digs (78 to 76) for the match. The Pioneers actually made fewer atack errors than the Coyotes (19 to 23) over the course of four sets.

Bruno had a .324 attack percentage and led the Pioneers with 16 kills, topping her previous career high of 15. Hall scored 15 kills and established a season high with 18 digs. 

Kiani Rayford finshed with nine kills and eight digs, Jovan Turner added five kills, and Micah Hammond ppsted four kills without an attack error to go along with a team-best two blocks.

Ashia Joseph racked up five kills, 31 assists, and 10 digs for the Pioneers. Fellow setter Veronica Fabiano turned in 15 assists and three scoops in three sets of work.

On the back line, junior Angie Maina set a new career high with 26 digs and added four assists. Senior Veronica Sanchez posted eight digs. 

Despite the loss, this was perhaps the best match the Pioneers have played as a team since their road victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills. They will attempt to halt their losing skid for good when they return home next weekend to host Cal State Stanislaus on Friday, Oct. 24 and Chico State on Saturday, Oct. 25.