HAYWARD, Calif. -- After a frustrating road loss on opening night, the Cal State East Bay volleyball team turned the page quickly and picked up two victories back at home, defeating Holy Names (3-1) and Dominican (3-0) at the sixth annual Route 92 Showdown on Friday. 

The Pioneers powered past the pair of PacWest Conference opponents, improving their record to 2-1 to start the season. 

They started their first match of the day in dominant fashion with a one-sided victory in the first set against Holy Names. East Bay stumbled a bit in game two as the Hawks snuck out a two-point win, but the home team finished off the contest with a pair of decisive victories in the last two sets. 

Overall, the Pioneers out-hit HNU .248 to .063 for the match, with CSUEB surpassing the .300 mark in both the first and third frames. 

Junior Kathy McKiernan was nearly unstoppable in the middle, leading all players with 11 kills. She made zero attack errors on 13 swings, finishing the afternoon with an .846 hitting percentage. McKiernan also tied Kiki Leuteneker for the team lead with four total blocks, as the Pioneers tallied six blocks in the victory.

Leuteneker finished with just six kills, but she tallied seven of East Bay's 17 service aces, notching a career high. Newcomer Lindsey Ray added eight kills to go along with three aces. 

Katie Ireland posted a double-double with 18 assists and 11 digs, while senior libero Brandi Brucato led the way defensively with 15 digs. Audrey Lamoureux shared the setting duties, notching 15 assists along with three aces. 

After a break of a few hours during which the team's primary goal was undoubtedly to attempt to stay cool amidst the sweltering Northern California heat, the Pioneers were back on the court for the fourth and final match of the day at 7 p.m..

Dominican has proved a tough non-conference opponent for CSUEB in recent seasons, but the Pioneers were on top of their game on this night to secure the victory in straight sets. 

Both squads had success on the attack, but East Bay was remarkably efficient offensively, boasting a .325 hitting percentage for the match. They scored at least 15 kills in all three sets, totaling 49 for the match. The Pioneers also finished with a 9-3 advantage in total blocks.

But despite the impressive statistics, this match was far from a blowout. The first set was incredibly tight, and the teams found themselves tied 21-21 near the end of the frame. East Bay found another gear when it mattered most, winning three straight points to grab momentum, then winning the game on a kill by Leuteneker.

It was a somewhat similar script in the second set, in that the teams traded points and stayed close the majority of the way. Once again, the Pioneers showed their maturity and talent by taking control when the game was on the line, winning the final five points to pull away.

The third set turned out to be the final one of the night, but it was not without drama, coming down to the final point. The squads traded the lead back and forth a few times before the Pioneers went on a 10-4 run to grab a 23-18 lead.

Dominican rallied back, winning six straight points to take a 24-23 lead. But once again, East Bay was stout to close out the set. Julie Navarro slammed home a kill to tie the score, and Leuteneker scored one of her own on the next point. Dominican's attack attempt then went out of bounds, securing the 26-24 win for East Bay.

Leuteneker hit .522 with 13 kills in the second match, while McKiernan added five kills, four blocks and a .571 attack percentage. Deja Thompson bounced back from a tough afternoon, hitting .308 in the nightcap with nine kills, three aces, and three blocks. Navarro also had a strong performance with eight kills and a .300 hitting percentage.

Once again, Ireland notched a double-double with 23 assists and 11 digs. And once again, Brucato led all players in digs, tallying 18. Ireland also added three kills on three attempts.

Following the program's first ever CCAA postseason appearance in 2016, this year's team has showed signs of improvement in each of its first three contests. The Pioneers will attempt to stay in the win column Saturday when they host Biola University at 4:30 p.m. to close out the tournament.