TURLOCK, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team rallied back from down 0-2 to win the final three games and sneak away from Fitzpatrick Arena with a five-set victory over Stanislaus State on Saturday evening.

It was an impressive comeback for the Pioneers (13-6, 6-4 CCAA), who improved their road record to 3-5 this season. More importantly, they picked up another win in the North Division to stay just ahead of Cal State Monterey Bay in second place. 

East Bay out-hit Stanislaus .224 to .185 for the night, as the Warriors hit over .270 in each of the first two frames but under .200 in the final three as the Pioneers mounted their comeback. The visitors totaled just 18 attack errors in the five-set match, never committing more than four in a single set.

It also wasn't as though CSUEB played horribly in dropping the first two sets -- in each case, the score was extremely tight, but the home team managed to grab the winning points at the end to secure 25-23 and 25-22 wins. 

The veteran Pioneer squad did not roll over or lose its composure, however. East Bay took a bit of the pressure off by jumping out to a quick lead in game three and sustaining it throughout the set, avoiding a dramatic finish with a 25-20 victory. They kept that momentum going to record an even more on-sided victory in game four, as the Warriors were held to a negative hitting percentage. 

The final set did not disappoint, however. East Bay grabbed a lead, but Stanislaus quickly rallied. The Pioneers switched sides with an 8-6 advantage before the Warriors rattled off three straight points to go up 9-8. It was back-and-forth after that until the squads sat knotted at 14-14. Deja Thompson beat the defense for a kill to give the Pioneers match point, and then on the next point Thompson and Tiana Weeks combined on a block to clinch the victory.

Thompson led East Bay for the second straight night, tallying 15 kills, three blocks, and a .316 hitting percentage. Fellow junior Kiki Leuteneker hit .310 with 12 kills and three blocks of her own, and Kathy McKierian reached double-digit kill with 10. She added three blocks as well, and made zero attack errors en route to a .417 attack percentage.

Lindsey Ray notched seven kills and a team-high 17 blocks, which Weeks and Julie Navarro posted five kills apiece on the left side. 

Libero Brandi Brucato totaled 16 digs and paced the team with four service aces. Freshman Audrey Lamoureux had a strong night at the setter position with 28 assists and 11 scoops. Junior Katie Ireland added 13 assists and 10 digs. 

The Pioneers return to Hayward next weekend to put their undefeated home record on the line against Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez Hills.