SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team dropped both of its matches on Friday at Cal State San Bernardino's Coyote Classic, falling to Westminster College in straight sets and New Mexico Highlands in four frames.

Playing the second match of the day at noon, the Pioneers found themselves in an early hole against Westminster. The Griffins led the entire way and held off every East Bay comeback attempt in the first set to cruise to a 25-19 win. They ran away with game two, 25-14, while holding the Pioneers to .033 hitting.

CSUEB put up a solid fight in the third frame, tallying 17 kills in a tight, back-and-forth contest. East Bay had chances to gain control with tie scores of 23-23, 24-24, and 25-25, but all three times Westminster won the next point, and they held on for a 27-25 victory.

The Pioneers were out-hit .299 to .150 by the Griffins for the match. Sophomore Michaela Gardner was the team's leading scorer, posting 10 kills and six digs. Freshman Kiki Leuteneker notched seven kills with just two attack errors. 

Kylie Fraga handled the majority of the setting duties with 20 assists, and fellow sophomore Veronica Fabiano added seven.

The Pioneers were back in action later in the evening at Coussoulis Arena, taking on New Mexico Highlands in a 5 p.m. match. The nightcap was a much tighter contest, but it started and ended in frustrating fashion for CSUEB. 

NMHU stormed out of the gate and hit .464 in the opening frame, winning a one-sided game 25-13 to grab an early lead on the Pioneers. The next three sets were extremely tight, but the end result didn't go East Bay's way. After falling behind 2-0 in the match, the Pioneers rallied and held off the Cowboys 25-22 in game three. 

The final set went back and forth right to the finish, but despite huge late kills by Leuteneker and Deja Thompson, East Bay couldn't manage to tie the score and fell just short, 25-23.

Both squads were efficient on the attack, but CSUEB was once again out-hit, this time .341 to .246 for the match. Thompson had a monster performance, leading the team with 12 kills, three blocks, and a .550 hitting percentage. 

Leuteneker and Gardner both notched 11 kills in the loss, and Kiani Rayford added seven with just one attack error. Libero Angie Maina racked up 25 digs and four aces to pace the Pioneers, while Fraga totaled 38 assists.

The tournament and East Bay's non-conference schedule conclude on Saturday, Sept. 12, as the Pioneers (1-6) have a 12 noon showdown with Fort Lewis.