HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team rallied for a dramatic five-set win over Stanislaus State in front of an outstanding crowd at Pioneer Gymnasium on Tuesday night. After dropping the first two sets, the Pioneers stormed back to win three in a row, capped off by a narrow 15-13 victory in the deciding game.

The Pioneers (3-8, 1-2 CCAA) out-hit Stanislaus .249 to .194 in handing the Warriors just their second loss of the season. 

Freshman Kiki Leuteneker posted a double-double, leading the team with 17 kills to go along with 13 digs. Sophomore Kiani Rayford provided a huge lift off the bench, scoring 14 kills and hitting .400 for the match. Freshman southpaw Julie Navarro also notched 14 kills on the right side. 

The Pioneers were stout in the back row, led by senior libero Angie Maina with 35 digs. Junior Darlene Lee notched a career high with 21 scoops of her own.

Sophomore setter Kylie Fraga was impressive in facilitating the comeback, racking up 54 assists to go along with 11 digs and four kills.

"This was a great team win," said head coach Jim Spagle. "Angie was superb and controlled the match defensively. Kylie played her best match so far as a Pioneer. Kiki and Kiani had some huge kills on the outside, and Kiani was extremely efficient hitting .400."

The first two sets were extremely tight, as the teams traded the lead back and forth numerous times. In both frames, the Pioneers had a chance to win, but came up just short. They led 23-19 in game one, but Stanislaus rallied to win four straight and force extra points before squeaking out a 29-27 win. The score was 16-15 in the second set when the Warriors won seven straight points to pull away.

All the moment seemed to be on the visitor bench heading into the intermission, but the Pioneers refused to roll over in their CCAA home opener. Rayford and Leuteneker both started to heat up in the third set as East bay pulled away from Stanislaus for a 10-point win to extend the match.

The Warriors appeared to right the ship a bit in the fourth frame, taking a 16-11 lead. But once again the Pioneers rallied, going on an 8-1 run to take a four-point advantage. They closed out the set on kills by Leuteneker and Navarro to force a fifth game.

The final set was back-and-forth the entire way. The Pioneers held an 8-6 lead when the teams traded sides, but Stanislaus immediately bounced back to win three straight points. The crowd was on its feet as the score reached 13-13, and then Pioneer Gym erupted when East Bay sealed the victory on kills by Rayford and freshman Kathy McKiernan.

McKiernan finished with seven kills, while fellow middle Deja Thompson notched five kills and a team-high four total blocks. 

"Julie had some big kills for us, and both Deja and Kathy added some important kills and blocks tonight," Spagle commented. "Brandi Brucato brought a lot of energy to the court, and Darlene added some huge digs, including a crucial dig on a ball tipped in front of her in the fifth set. And special thanks to the fans who helped us come all the way back in that match!"

Next up, the Pioneers travel south for a showdown with the newest member of the conference, Cal State San Marcos, on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 3 p.m. in the afternoon.