HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay water polo team has been ranked among the top 25 in the nation according to the Collegiate Water Polo Association coaches poll, released Wednesday.

The Pioneers are making their first appearance in the national rankings since the 2013 season. They received two points, putting them tied for the No. 25 spot with Cal State Northridge and Bucknell. CSUEB is one of just three Division II institutions to appear in the top 25, joining No. 23 California Baptist and No. 19 UC San Diego.

Click here to view the complete Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 25 Rankings. 

Speaking of UC San Diego, the Tritons are the next matchup on the schedule for Cal State East Bay as the team makes its first trip of the season to southern California. The Pioneers and UCSD meet up at Canyonview Aquatic Center for a 6 p.m. contest that will count as the designated Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) conference game between the two squads. 

East Bay has never defeated UC San Diego, the unanimous preseason pick among the WWPA coaches to repeat as conference champions. However, the Pioneers have had several close calls in the last three years, including a heartbreaking 15-13 overtime loss to the Tritons last April and a 10-8 defeat in the WWPA championship game.

Following their Friday evening showdown, the Pioneers with stay in La Jolla to compete in the annual Triton Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. Their opening game of the tournament is an extremely tough test against No. 5 Arizona State. Consistently one of the top programs in in the nation, the Sun Devils haven't played since opening the regular season with back-to-back wins over Indiana on Jan. 23. 

Depending on the outcome of the morning game, East Bay will take on either UC Santa Barbara or Marist on Saturday afternoon. The team will play two more contests on Sunday, with their opponents to be determined based on how to bracket plays out. 

The Pioneers are off to a solid start to the 2016 season with victories over No. 24 Cal State Bakersfield and Fresno Pacific and narrow losses to No. 10 San Jose State and Santa Clara. 

Senior Taylor Cross leads the team and ranks third among WWPA players with 10 goals this season. Fellow senior Sabrina Hatzer tops the conference with 10 assists. Senior Tori Dettloff and Casey Rushforth have both scored 13 total points in the young season to lead East Bay. Rushforth had a big game in the team's most recent contest against Santa Clara, leading the way with four goals, an assist, and two drawn exclusions. 

In the cage, junior goalkeeper Nikki Vaughn was the WWPA Player of the Week for Jan. 15-17. She has 38 saves through four games and leads all WWPA goalies with a .518 save percentage.

The Pioneers went 1-3 last season at the Triton Invitational, losing to three top-15 teams before beating Sonoma State, 8-6, in the tournament finale.