GENEVA, Ohio -- After a trip to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on Thursday, the Cal State East Bay water polo team is set to open the 2017 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championships this weekend at the SPIRE Institute.

The Pioneers received the No. 2 seed in the six-team tournament for the first time in program history and will therefore get a bye through the first round, which takes place Friday afternoon. East Bay will play its first game of the Championships on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT, taking on the winner of the first-round game between No. 3 Sonoma State vs. No. 6 Gannon.

The Pioneers have reached the WWPA title game each of the last three years, falling to top-seeded UC San Diego each time. The Tritons have won the last four conference championships, and they have not lost a game to a WWPA opponent since 2009. East Bay will look to finally put an end to that streak this weekend.

If the seedings hold, CSUEB is staring at a potential matchup with Sonoma State in the semifinals. It's always a great battle when the Pioneers and Seawolves meet, as the squads have participated in several tight, dramatic contests of the last few years. This season, East Bay and SSU split their two regular season games, with the Seawolves winning 11-10 in Hayward, and the Pioneers returning the favor with an 8-5 victory in Rohnert Park in the designated conference game.

If the Pioneers and Sonoma State do meet in round two, it was be the third straight semifinal matchup between the two teams. In 2015, it took until sudden death overtime before CSUEB finally prevailed, 8-7. Last year's contest went into extra periods as well, and Brandi Carroll's overtime hat trick clinched a 12-9 win for the Pioneers.

This season, East Bay enters the tournament with a 12-12 overall record for the season. They went 2-1 in their WWPA contests to earn the No. 2 seed and closed out the regular season with wins over Sonoma and Cal State Monterey Bay in their last two games. The Pioneers received one top-25 vote in the most recent Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) national poll. 

The 2017 All-WWPA teams were announced the week prior to the Championships, and the Pioneers boasted five honorees, the second-most of any school in the conference. Freshman Auriel Bill led the way, capturing the WWPA Newcomer of the Year award to go along with First Team honors. Bill made a big splash in her rookie season, leading the Pioneers in goals (46), assists (26), and steals (20). She ranks third among all WWPA players averaging 3.0 points per game. 

Goalkeeper Nikki Vaughan was also a First Team selection as she made the All-WWPA list for the second straight season. The senior had another impressive year in the cage, leading all conference goalies in save percentage (.515) and ranking second in saves per game (8.45).

Four-year senior Olivia Mackell made her first All-WWPA appearance with a Second Team nod after tallying 13 goals and 14 steals and leading the Pioneers with 39 drawn ejections. CSUEB's second and third leading scorers were also recognized, as senior Brandi Carroll (21 goals, 16 assists) and junior Leilani Vazquez (31 goals, 25 drawn ejections) received an All-WWPA Honorable Mention.