CSU East Bay women’s volleyball team extended their winning streak to four games over the weekend with two wins against CSU Los Angeles with a record of 14-10, 9-7 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and CSU Dominguez Hills record of 8-17, 1-16 in the CCAA.
“I think what has sparked the winning streak is that we were really just sick of losing,” said Middle Blocker Samantha Bruno. “We now have the attitude that we deserve to win and we really have nothing to lose. This makes us more aggressive during the games. It’s also so much more fun to see our hard work actually paying off.”
On Friday night the Pioneers took on CSULA and defeated the Golden Eagles in four sets, which extended their winning streak to three. CSULA recorded a third straight loss in the process.
Several members of the Pioneer squad turned in huge performances that helped fuel the win. CSUEB’s Katie Allen, outside hitter, had a hitting percentage of .355 and led the team with 14 kills. She also recorded two aces and four solo blocks, a season high for her.
Samantha Bruno was dominant in the middle, posting 10 kills without an error for a .526 attack percentage. East Bay’s setter, Ashia Joseph, tallied five kills in six attempts to go along with 43 assists and five digs.
Pioneers hit .148 in the first set allowing CSULA to take the lead. Pioneers fell behind in the second set but with the fine effort of Veronica Sanchez, serving seven straight, resulted in a victory to tie CSULA in sets 1-1.
Even with the momentum that East Bay built in the second set, the Golden Eagles fought back. The Golden Eagles had a 20-17 advantage but with the Pioneers determination, they fought back to tie and take the lead.
Both teams had multiple opportunities to win set point, giving remarkable effort and fighting for the win. The Pioneers finally sealed the victory with a kill by Bruno and consecutive kills by Allen, which sparked chants from the fans.
Heading into the fourth set, the Pioneers were able to finish the Golden Eagles by taking a 12-6 lead and winning that last six of the eight points to seal the match.
The Pioneers took on CSU Dominguez Hills in a less dramatic match Saturday night. The Pioneers defeated the Toros, 3-1, and extended their winning streak to four.
Katie Allen had another dominating game hitting .552 and recording double digit kills to lead the team. Samantha Bruno had another successful game totaling 11 kills with a .563 hitting percentage. Kitona Offord, Amber Hall, and Suzy Ni Xu had a successful game recording eight kills each. Ashia Joseph recorded 52 assists in victory, while libero Veronica Sanchez led with 15 digs.
With just five games left in the season, the Pioneers hope to keep the winning streak alive and finish the season strong by staying with their aggressive mindset and play.
“We all really want to win out,” said Middle Blocker Brittany Dominguez. “The beginning of the season was pretty rough. We struggled to finish games and weren’t playing as a team. So ending with nine consecutive wins would be amazing!”
The Pioneers faced Cal State Monterey Bay on Tuesday in Seaside and fell 3-1. CSUEB’s final two home games will be against Cal State San Bernardino this Friday and UC San Diego this Saturday in which they will be celebrating Senior Night.
