HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team played perhaps its most impressive match of the season on Saturday, defeating Chico State in straight sets to close out the 2017 regular season.
The annual "Senior Night" match was preceded by a brief ceremony to honor the career of the lone senior on this year's squad, libero
Brandi Brucato. The Reno, Nev. native has been an exemplary student-athlete on and off the court over the last four years, and racked up 19 digs tonight in her final home contest. Brucato has now totaled 1,378 career digs, the second-most in program history.
It was also an outstanding evening for the CSUEB attackers, who tallied 51 kills in three sets, while making just nine attack errors the entire match. East Bay's .429 hitting percentage for the night is by far the team's highest in a single match this season.
However, the Wildcats gave the Pioneers all they could handle in the first set. East Bay hit .378, but Chico checked in at .372, trading points back-and-forth the entire way. The visitors went ahead early, but a 10-2 scoring run put the Pioneers on top 21-16. They appeared to be in good shape, but Chico quickly rallied, winning six of the next seven points to tie the score 22-22.
CSUEB halted the Wildcat momentum as
Kiki Leuteneker put the Pioneers back on top with a kill following a timeout. Two points later, it was once again tied at 24-24. East Bay took advantage of a service error to re-take the lead, then
Deja Thompson slammed home a kill to clinch the game for the Pioneers.
The Wildcats may have had some wind let out of their sails after a thrilling first set, while the Pioneers used it as a springboard. The home team proceeded to hit .407 and run away with the second set to snag a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
Chico put up a bit more of a fight in game three, but East Bay's .538 hitting percentage was too much for the visitors to overcome as the Pioneers closed out the sweep victory.
Setter
Katie Ireland was outstanding as the facilitator for the Pioneer attackers, racking up 45 assists to go along with eight digs and three kills. One of those ended the contest, as Ireland went over on two and caught the Wildcat defense off-guard for match point.
Thompson turned in a dominant performance in the middle, leading all players with 16 kills, three aces, and a .625 hitting percentage. Not to be out-done,
Lindsey Ray hit .600 with nine kills on 15 swings and added eight digs.
Leuteneker notched eight kills, and fellow juniors
Julie Navarro and
Kathy McKiernan contributed seven each.
The Pioneers wrap up the regular season with a 17-10 record, the program's highest win total since 2010. With this win over Chico, the team finishes CCAA competition at 10-8 and earns the North Division's No. 2 seed at next week's CCAA Tournament.
East Bay is playing its best volleyball of the season heading into the postseason, having won four of its last five matches. One of those victories was on the road two weeks ago at UC San Diego, an opponent the Pioneers may see in the first round of the CCAA Tournament on Thursday evening at San Francisco State. Due to a three-way tie for the final two playoff spots in the South Division, the official tournament seedings will not be announced until Sunday.
