HAYWARD, Calif. — Cal State East Bay went toe-to-toe with conference leader Cal Poly Pomona on Friday night at Pioneer Gymnasium, taking the match the full five sets before ultimately falling 3–2.  The Pioneers fell 23–25, 26–24, 20–25, 25–21, 13–15 to snap a three match win streak and move to 8-9 overall and 5-3 in CCAA play. 
 
Cal Poly Pomona stormed out to an early 8–0 lead, forcing East Bay to play catch-up. The Pioneers slowly chipped away and eventually took a 23-21 lead after four straight kills from Jada Stone and Barakat Adekola.  The Broncos responded by taking the next four points to take an early 1-0 lead. 
 
The Pioneers started fast the second set, opening with a 4–0 burst capped by a Pi'ilani Carvalho ace. EB built their lead to six at 13-7 before Pomona responded with seven straight points to take the lead.  Trailing 21-18, the Pioneers answered back, using a pair of kills by Adekola take a 23-22 advantage.  CPP eventually earned match point at 24-23 but East Bay had one more run in them, notching the next three points to win the set and even the match at 1-1.
 
The third set featured 12 ties and five lead changes, with neither team leading by more than three points until late. Adekola and Adams traded kills with Pomona's Sarah Ybarra, who sparked a 6–2 Bronco run to close out the set, 25–20.
 
Facing elimination, the Pioneers delivered a key fourth set victory. Adams ignited the offense early, while Stone added key blocks at the net as East Bay jumped to a 14–9 advantage. Pomona made a late push, cutting it to 20-10, but Adekola registered two late kills to close the set. The Pioneers posted 17 kills and just four errors to hit .279 and force a deciding fifth set. 
 
East Bay struck first in the fifth, taking an 8–6 lead at the side change behind kills from Adekola and Adams. The teams traded points until a late four-point Pomona surge flipped the score to 14–10. The Pioneers scored the next three to make it 14-13 but the Broncos put the match away on the next point. 
 
East Bay finished with 68 kills on .215 hitting compared to Pomona's 71 kills at .229. The Pioneers also out-dug the Broncos 91–88 and tallied nine service aces, including three from Carvalho.
 
Adekola powered the attack with 22 kills on .275 hitting to go with 14 digs, while Stone and Adams finished with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Fane Paua dished out 57 assists, and Kale'a Kuamo'o led a strong defensive effort with a match-high 33 digs.
 
The Pioneers are out on the road next week when they take on Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday and UC Merced on Saturday.