IRVINE, Calif. - The 2023 season opened for the Cal State East Bay women's volleyball team on Thursday in the opener of the Golden Eagle Invitational on the campus of Concordia University Irvine. The Pioneers swept Azusa Pacific in three sets, 25-21, 25-18, 25-22. 
 

MATCH SUMMARY

The first four points went to the Pioneers in the match and they never looked back in the opening set. While Cal State East Bay led by five points at most in the opening set, the Pioneers took a 1-0 lead in sets with an opening set score of 25-21 as Taumafa Tuinauvai closed out the set with a kill. Lexi Pagani had six kills in set one with no attack errors. 

APU led the second set, 16-15, but the Pioneers responded with a 10-2 run to close out the set, 25-18. The set point was won with a kill by Alexandria Gloria. Fane Paua had five kills on six attempts in the second set and had a trio of block assists. 

Although the Cougars kept set three close, the Pioneers prevailed to win it 25-22 for a three-set sweep to open the 2023 season. 
 

NOTABLE STATS

• Pagani finished with a team-high 12 kills and with 18 digs, opened the season with a double-double. 
• Leading the Pioneers in digs was Tuinauvai with 19 on Thursday. 
• Paua's defensive presence at the net helped the Pioneers as she finished with a solo block and four block assists. Offensively, she had nine kills wih no attack errors. 
• Megan Crecelius had 22 assists in the season opener.
• Also with a double-double, including 18 assists and 10 digs was Pi'ilani Carvalho in her Pioneer debut. 

 

POSTGAME QUOTE

Cal State East Bay head coach Kimberly Lambert following Thursday's 3-0 season-opening win:
"We had several tough, gritty plays that we capitalized on to run our offense. We have a lot of good energy and we know it's something we have to maintain this weekend."
 

RECORDS

Cal State East Bay: 1-0
Azusa Pacific: 0-1
 

UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY

The Pioneers have two matches on Friday in the Golden Eagle Invitational, taking place at CU Arena. At 9 a.m., Cal State East Bay takes on UC-Colorado Springs. Later in the day, at 4:30 p.m., the Pioneers take on No. 4 Wayne State (Neb.) in the tournament.