Video: CSUEB Postgame Interview

SAN FRANCISCO -- The 2017 volleyball season will continue at least one more day for Cal State East Bay after the Pioneers defeated UC San Diego in straight sets on Thursday evening in the first round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament at SF State.

It marks the third straight sweep victory for the red-hot Pioneers, who have won five of their last six matches to improve their overall record to 18-10. 

Junior Deja Thompson, fresh off the program's first All-CCAA First Team nod since 2010, turned in another dominant effort in the middle to pace the Pioneers. She tallied 12 kills and two aces without making a single attack error for a match-high .632 hitting percentage. 

East Bay hit .228 as a team in the match with fairly consistent play, posting at least a .200 percentage in all three sets. Meanwhile, the Pioneer defense turned in an impressive performance, holding the Tritons to an .065 overall attack percentage. East Bay also finished with an 8-0 advantage in blocks.

All three sets were close enough that either team could have emerged victorious, but the Pioneers played with poise and executed their system with the level of success one would expect from such a veteran squad. 

In the opening set, an early 7-1 run gave the Pioneers a 10-5 lead, and they never trailed the rest of the way. It appeared as though UCSD would even the score in game two as the Tritons grabbed a 17-11 lead, but East Bay mounted a rally. The Pioneers quickly won three straight points to force a timeout, then they closed the set on an 8-3 run to erase their deficit and steal a 26-24 victory.

East Bay had all the momentum heading into the break, but the early part of game three was extremely tight. The teams went back and forth and it was tied 10-10 when the Pioneers finally took over. They won nine of the next 10 points to take a commanding lead, and then closed out the sweep victory, appropriately, on a kill by Thompson.

Fellow All-CCAA honoree Lindsey Ray notched 11 kills on a team-high 35 attempts in the win. Kathy McKiernan added seven kills and three blocks in the middle, while junior All-CCAA pick Kiki Leuteneker notched six kills.

Defensively, senior All-CCAA libero Brandi Brucato led the way with 16 digs, while sophomore Natahlee Wilson tallied 15. Ray and setter Katie Ireland each contributed eights, as the Pioneers bested UCSD 57-46 in that category. Ireland also posted 34 assists, three kills, and three total blocks.

Head coach Jim Spagle's 466th career win was also the first ever CCAA Tournament victory for Cal State East Bay. The program joined the conference in 2009 and earned its first postseason berth last season, bowing out in the first round. 

The team that eliminated CSUEB in 2016 was top-seeded Cal State San Bernardino, the same team the Pioneers will face Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the CCAA Tournament semifinals.