Chico State volleyball took on the California State University, East Bay Pioneers on Saturday, but after a thrilling first set that saw a total of 17 tie scores and ten lead changes the Wildcats would lose in three sets 28-30, 8-25, 20-25.

Both teams were neck to neck for most of the first set, never reaching more than a two-point difference. The Pioneers gained momentum and ended up taking the first set 28-30.

Going on to the second set East Bay wasted no time and took the lead 0-6, within the first three minutes of the set. Chico State got themselves on the scoreboard but their efforts did not make the cut and ended the second set 8-25.

With spirits low in the third set, coach Cody Hein makes some bold substitutions that paid off in the overall performance. Freshman #17 Gretta Kirkby had a total of three kills which were needed while trailing behind the Pioneers the whole third set.

“The reason why we wanted to go to Gretta, is physically she sometimes doesn’t match well with her opponents but her spirit is phenomenal,” Hein said.

The Wildcats were gaining momentum until one serve did not make it over the net giving both possession and another point to the Pioneers. East Bay took this as an advantage and came out with the win 20-25.

“I don’t think we did our fundamentals as well as we usually do. I think this just lead to a breakdown of our mental game and a breakdown of confidence. Which ultimately lead to that loss,” junior Bekah Boyle said.

The team plays on the road a total of four times within the next eight days. Their first matchup will be on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. against San Francisco State University.

“I want to find a way to motivate my team to fire up. We can’t go out there and lose 8-25, we are not a 8-25 team,” junior Brooke Fogel said.

Lucero Del Rayo can be reached at [email protected] or @del_rayo98 on Twitter.