TURLOCK – Against the second place team in the North division of the California Collegiate Association, the Stanislaus State volleyball team lost in a five set battle to Cal State East Bay on Saturday night at Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.
The Warriors came out strong against the Pioneers, taking sets one and two 25-22 and 25-23. CSUEB stole the next three sets 20-25, 15-25, and 14-16. Stan State is now 1-17 and 1-9 in league while the Pioneers advance to 13-6 and 6-4 in the CCAA.
Yisel Perez was dominant on the outside, leading the Led the Warriors offense with 18 kills, a new personal best. Also in double digit kills,
Rachel Klopfer tallied 15 kills and
Sierra Adams had 14 kills. Facilitating the offense, setter
Breanna Cannon totaled 53 assists, a season high.
On defense, libero
Sara Schell led Stan State with 23 digs. Three more Warriors dug in double digits, Perez with 16 digs, Klopfer with 14 digs, and
Ramey Gardner with 12 digs. Stan State totaled 13 blocks as a team, and middle blocker
Morgan Miller led with five blocks.
The Warriors came out strong to start off the match, staying neck and neck with the Pioneers for the entirety of the set. In set one, the Warriors and Pioneers tied the score 16 times before Stan State took the lead and the set.
The Warriors took the lead from the start of set two and held it the entire set, taking a six-point lead at 17-11. Cal State East Bay fought their way back into the set, but not before the Warriors reached point-25. Scrappy Pioneer defense combined with an abundance of Warriors errors gave Cal State East Bay the next three sets to win the match.
Deja Thompson led the Pioneers in the front row with 15 kills, and Kiki Leuteneker followed with 12 kills. Setters Audrey Lamoureux and Katie Ireland split time running CSUEB's offense, Lamoureux with 18 assists and Ireland with 13 assists. Lindsey Ray led the Pioneers' defense with 17 digs and libero Brandi Brucato followed with 16 digs.
Next week the Warriors are on the road for two more CCAA matchups. Stan State will take on Chico State on Thursday and Humboldt State on Friday.