MONMOUTH Ore. -- The Cal State East Bay volleyball team had a memorial final day the 2017 DII West Region Showcase, hosted by Western Oregon. The Pioneers won both ends of their doubleheader, defeating both Chaminade and the host Wolves in five sets. 

East Bay finishes the tournament with a 3-1 record and completes its non-conference schedule with a record of 6-2. 

This Pioneer squad has seemed to develop a taste for going the distance. Of the team's eight matches his season, six have gone to a fifth set. This includes a streak of five straight five-set matches that culminated Saturday evening with a dramatic comeback against the Wolves. 

But first, the team had to get past Chaminade. They trailed early after a tight, but sloppy first set. The Pioneers then appeared to have all the momentum after taking each of the next two games, but the Silverswords came storming back. Chaminade hit .577 in the fourth set and routed the Pioneers 25-13 to force a fifth game. Their luck ran out in the final frame, however, as the Swords made five attack errors and East Bay pulled away for a 15-8 win.

The Pioneers out-hit Chaminade .231 to .194 in the contest, led by Lindsey Ray, who turned in perhaps her best performance of the young season. Ray paced the team with 15 kills, posting a double-double with 11 digs. She also led the way with a .324 attack percentage. 

Kiki Leuteneker also reached double figures in kills with 12, while Kathy McKiernan added seven to go along with a .400 hitting percentage. Senior Brandi Brucato tallied 16 digs to lead the team in the back row.

Later Saturday evening, East Bay played its most dramatic match of the season so far, and improbably came out on the winning end. 

Western Oregon got off to a hot start, hitting .344 to win the first set handily. The Pioneers jumped out to an early lead in game two, but WOU rallied back. The teams traded rallies back and forth into extra points as the frame turned into a marathon. Finally East Bay had set point with a 32-31 lead, but the Wolves scored three straight kills to win the game.

CSUEB couldn't have had less momentum on its side at that point, but the squad nonetheless ratcheted up its level of play in the final three frames. The Pioneers hit .548 in the third set and .417 in the fourth, winning both decisively to flip the script on the Wolves. It was more of the same in game five, as East Bay went on a 5-0 run midway through the set and posted a .391 attack percentage en route to a 15-9 victory.

Brucato racked up 26 digs in the win, and the Pioneers tallied 71 assists as a team. Junior Katie Ireland was responsible for 37 of those, as well as four kills, while freshman Audrey Lamoureux added 27 off the bench.

East Bay posted a season-high .308 hitting percentage. They had a great deal of success on the attack as a team, with Deja Thompson (17 kills, .316 pct.), McKiernan (15 kills, .462 pct.), Ray (14 kills, .303 pct., 14 digs), Leuteneker (13 kills, .257 pct.), Julie Navarro (9 kills, .259 pct.), and Tiana Weeks (9 kills, .261 pct.) all contributing strong performances. 

Thompson finished the weekend with totals of 51 kills, 11 digs, and 15 blocks and was named to the D2 West Region Showcase All-Tournament team following the conclusion of play. 

The Pioneers now return home to open their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule. The team hosts Cal State Monterey Bay Wednesday evening, followed by Humboldt State on Saturday.