UC San Diego snaps Pioneers' winning streak with 3-1 victory

  • October 27, 2010

HAYWARD, Calif. - The Pioneer volleyball team saw their five match winning streak snapped by visiting UC San Diego in four sets, 19-25, 20-25, 25-16, 24-26, on Wednesday night.

With the victory, UC San Diego (13-7, 10-6 CCAA) extends its winning streak to six matches. Cal State East Bay stands at 11-5 in CCAA play and 16-5 for the season.

Katie Allen and Jit Athwal each had 12 kills for the Pioneers. Roxanne Neely followed with 11 putaways and hit at a .375 clip. Kitona Offord had 10 kills while K.C. Walsh finished with 28 assists and 15 digs. Lauren Massa played solid defense and ended with a match-high 21 digs. 

Katie Condon led the Tritons with 17 kills and a .410 hitting percentage. Roxanne Brunsting and Hillary Williamson both recorded double-doubles for UC San Diego.

An Allen kill gave the Pioneers a 13-10 lead in the first set. UC San Diego rallied with four unanswered points to hold a 14-13 advantage. With the score tied 19-19, Brunsting put down consecutive kills to give the Tritons a 21-19 lead. A Pioneer attack error gave the Tritons a 1-0 advantage in the match.

UC San Diego held a 9-3 advantage in the second set and never trailed from that point. Cara Simonsen, who finished the match with nine kills, put down the decisive kill in the second set to give the Tritons a 2-0 advantage.

The Pioneers bounced back in the third set scoring the first five points. UC San Diego tied the set 9-9 on a Brunsting kill. Cal State East Bay went on a 6-1 run to hold a 15-10 advantage. Two UC San Diego errors enabled the Pioneers to capture the set and trail 2-1.

In the fourth set, the Pioneers led 20-14 on a Neely kill. The Tritons’ Julia Freidenberg put down a kill to tie the match 22-22. Cal State East Bay regained the lead 23-22 on an Offord kill. Two Pioneer errors gave the Tritons a 24-23 lead. Athwal’s 12th kill of the match tied the score 24-24. Consecutive kills by Williamson and Simonsen enabled the Tritons to take the four-set match.

Cal State East Bay returns to action on Friday night when it plays host to Chico State at 7 p.m. at Pioneer Gym. The match is a part of to benefit the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Fans who bring three canned food items to the match will get in free.