HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team opened the weekend in impressive fashion on Friday, sweeping Stanislaus State in straight sets in a drizzly evening at Pioneer Gym (25-21, 25-17, 25-21).

Coming off an epic five-set comeback win last Saturday at Cal State L.A., the Pioneers appeared to carry that momentum back to Hayward, and they kept it going on this night. It was a crucial conference win for East Bay, which improved to 8-9 overall and 4-5 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play. The victory not only keeps the Pioneers in the thick of the North Division race, it gives them some well-earned revenge on the Warriors (8-10, 5-4 CCAA), who swept them back on Sept. 17 in Turlock.

CSUEB posted its highest attack percentage of the season in a single match, out-hitting Stanislaus .311 to .154 for the evening. The Pioneers were extremely efficient, making just 11 attack errors, and they were particularly dominant in the second set with a .448 attack percentage. They topped Stanislaus 7-2 in blocks and succeeded in spreading their offense around, with four players reaching double figures in points.

None of the sets were blowouts, but the Pioneers were impressive in their ability to close out when they had a lead. After taking a 2-0 advantage in the match, they got off to a slow start in game three as the Warriors went up 11-7. But East Bay stepped up on defense, going on a quick scoring run to tie the score. The teams traded points for the latter half of the frame, but Kiki Leuteneker and Deja Thompson were too much for the visitors down the stretch as CSUEB completed the sweep.

Thompson was a force offensively, tallying 11 kills and just one attack error on 19 attempts for a .526 hitting percentage. She was also in on three Pioneer blocks, same as fellow middle Kathy McKiernan. McKiernan and Leuteneker both notched nine kills, while Julie Navarro posted eight with just one attack error and a team-high five blocks. Together, the quartet of sophomores totaled 37 kills and seven attack errors. 

Setter Katie Ireland finished with 27 assists and led the team with 18 digs. Her defense has been a major key this season for the Pioneers, who entered the nation ranked No. 5 in the nation in digs per set as a team.

Junior Brandi Brucato totaled 11 digs, and senior Darlene Lee added 10. Junior Cassidy Caton contributed four kills as well.

The Pioneers will look to make it a 2-0 weekend on Saturday evening at 7 p.m., but they have a tough task ahead of them as they welcome in first place Chico State (14-4, 8-1 CCAA), who outlasted Cal State Monterey Bay in five sets Friday night.