Volleyball Closes Season With Comeback Win at CSUSM
SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Cal State East Bay volleyball wrapped up its 2023 season on Saturday with a CCAA matchup at Cal State San Marcos. The Cougars won the first two sets but the Pioneers came storming back and won the regular season finale, 3-2 (22-25, 27-29, 25-20, 25-15, 15-13).
MATCH SUMMARY |
In the opening set, the two teams traded points for most of the first 42 serves. The Cougars took the lead for good at 22-21 on an assisted block by Isabelle Bakken and Trinity Barr. CSUSM scored four of the final points in the set for a 25-22 win and a 1-0 lead.
In set two, the Pioneers took a 22-20 lead on a Lexi Pagani kill, but the Cougars scored the next three points to take a 23-22 lead with two of the points off service aces from Isabelle Bakken. Each team traded points to reach 25-25, forcing extra points. The Pioneers reached a set point advantage at 27-26, but CSUSM scored three unanswered points to win the set 29-27 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Cal State East Bay jumped out to a 9-1 run to start the third set but the Cougars would then go on a 7-2 run, capped by a Mackenzie Jennings kill, to trim the Pioneers' lead to 11-8. Cal State East Bay pulled away for a 20-12 lead after an ace by Alexandria Gloria. Although the Cougars trimmed the Pioneers lead to 20-17, Cal State East Bay took the third set 25-20 reducing the Cougars' lead to 2-1 in the match.
In the fourth set, the Pioneers would start the set on a 15-7 run capped by a Kara Green ace. The Pioneers would expand their lead to double digits, at 24-14, on another ace by Green. The Pioneers won the fourth set 25-15 and tied the match at 2-2 to force a deciding set.
In the fifth set, the Cougars would start the set on a 10-7 spurt but the Pioneers would go on a 6-2 run, capped by a solo block by Mia Jordan, to take the lead at 14-12 to reach match point. Although the CSUSM prolonged the match to reach 14-13, the Pioneers finished off the match after an attack error by the Cougars.
NOTABLE STATS |
- Pagani led the Pioneers with 18 kills with a .304 attack percentage.
- With 14 kills and no attack errors was Mia Jordan for a .519 attack percentage.
- Green also finished with 14 kills for a total of 920 in her career.
- Megan Crecelius had 31 assists for the Pioneers, finishing her career at CSUEB with 1,739 for her career, ninth on the all-time Pioneer record for career assists.
- Green and Gloria had four service aces each on Saturday.
- Mia Jordan had three solo blocks, and with 210 total blocks in her career, she sits sixth in the Pioneer record book.
- Gloria, Crecelius and Pagani each had 17 digs for the Pioneers in the season finale. Green finished her career with Cal State East Bay collecting 1,020 digs which is seventh most in program history.
FINAL SEASON RECORD |
The 2023 season has concluded for Cal State East Bay, under the direction of head coach Kimberly Lambert, which was her sixth year overseeing the program as the team finished 13-12 overall and 9-9 in CCAA play.
Latest Women's Volleyball
- FloSports and the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Forge Historic Media Rights Agreement for NCAA Division II’s Most Successful ConferenceAUSTIN, TX (May 15, 2024) – FloSports, a leading global sports media company, and the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the most successful NCAA Division II conference with 156 National Championships, have entered into an exclusive multi-year, seven-figure media rights agreement to begin this Fall. Through the agreement, FloSports will represent the CCAA and its 13 sports, providing a global platform to live stream events and support the teams, universities, and student-athletes with a robust content engine across the web and social.
- Announcing the 2023-24 Pioneer Athletic AwardsOn Monday, Cal State East Bay hosted its Pioneer Athletic Awards Banquet on Monday inside Pioneer Gymnasium. Student-athletes from Cal State East Bay were honored for athletic, academic and community impact. Below are the recipients of the 2023-24 Pioneer Athletic Awards.
- Gloria, Green, Jordan and Pagani Receive Academic All-District® HonorsGREENWOOD, Ind. – On Tuesday, the 2023 Academic All-District® Women's Volleyball Teams were announced by College Sports Communicators. From Cal State East Bay, four Pioneers were named to the team for their excellence in the classroom and in competition, including Alexandria Gloria, Kara Green, Mia Jordan and Lexi Pagani. For Green and Jordan, it's the second straight year in which they received the honor of its kind.
- Jordan, Pagani and Green Receive All-CCAA Postseason HonorsALISO VIEJO, Calif. - The 2023 postseason honors for CCAA women's volleyball were announced on Wednesday. Three members from Cal State East Bay women's volleyball received honors from the conference for a second consecutive year. Mia Jordan was named All-CCAA Second Team, while Kara Green and Lexi Pagani were named All-CCAA Honorable Mention.
- Pioneers Drop Friday's Match in Four Sets to No. 25 Cal Poly PomonaPOMONA, Calif. – Cal State East Bay volleyball started its final road trip of the regular season No. 25 Cal Poly Pomona in CCAA action Friday afternoon. In four sets, the Broncos won the match, 3-1 (25-23, 25-27, 25-15, 25-10).
- Senior Night Sweep for Pioneers VolleyballHAYWARD, Calif. - On Saturday, Cal State East Bay volleyball celebrated Senior Night in victorious fashion with a sweep in CCAA action against San Francisco State, 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-15). It was the final home match of the season for the Pioneers.