HAYWARD, Calif. — Cal State East Bay earned its first win of the 2026 season Friday afternoon, rallying for a five-set victory over Colorado School of Mines at Pioneer Gymnasium, 25-18, 17-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-8.
East Bay came out strong in the opening set, recording 14 kills while hitting .286 to take an early advantage with a 25-18 win.
Colorado School of Mines responded over the next two frames. The Orediggers took the second set 25-17 before following with a 25-21 win in the third, putting East Bay one set away from defeat.
The Pioneers answered with their highest hitting percentage of the match in the fourth.
East Bay recorded 18 kills with just four attack errors on 40 attempts, hitting .350 as a team. The Pioneers held off Mines for a 25-23 win to even the match at two sets apiece and force a deciding fifth.
East Bay carried that momentum into the final set.
The Pioneers recorded seven kills with only two errors on 20 attempts, hitting .250 while holding Colorado School of Mines to a -.115 hitting percentage. East Bay pulled away for a 15-8 victory to complete the comeback and secure its first win of the season.
Lamona Lauhingoa led the Pioneer attack with 22 kills and added 12 digs for a double-double. Natali Herrera turned in an efficient performance with 12 kills on 25 attacks and only three errors, finishing with a .360 hitting percentage.
Gianna Navarro added eight kills without an attack error on 16 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage, while Faith Stambaugh finished with five kills on nine attacks and hit .444.
Pi'ilani Carvalho directed the offense with 40 assists and added 13 digs along with three service aces. Kale'a Kuamo'o led the defensive effort with 24 digs, while Barakat Adekola added 10 kills and 11 digs for a double-double.
East Bay finished with 67 kills, 63 assists, seven service aces and 77 digs while hitting .200 for the match. The Pioneers held Colorado School of Mines to just five kills with eight attack errors in the deciding fifth set.
With the victory, Cal State East Bay improves to 1-4 on the season.
