The Chico State women’s volleyball team went head-to-head against California State University, East Bay on Tuesday night. The Wildcats were looking for redemption against the Pioneers as their first encounter this season was a 0-3 loss in late September.

The first set started off with East Bay taking a small lead. The Wildcats were prepared and did not allow the lead to increase by more than three points in the first half of the set. Eventually a little confidence from Chico State helped them tie it all up at 11-11.

The Pioneers were quick to shut this down and kept the points coming. As Chico State was trying to keep up, they kept falling short. No longer able to diminish the gap, East Bay dominated the second half of the set by a consistent seven-point lead.

The Wildcats fought until the very last point but the Pioneers targeted every weakness and took the set 18-25.

The Pioneers were not ready to face the second set as the Wildcats brought out a fighting spirit that got them an early lead, 10-4. But the six point lead wasn’t enough for the Wildcats, and eventually the six-point lead doubled.

As the scoreboard read 23-10, East Bay was not ready to lose and fought for another eight points before the Wildcats scored the game point.

The outstanding game play transcended into the third set, as the Wildcats yet again took another 10-4 lead behind the play of Junior Bekah Boyle.

“I felt really good about what a lot of my teammates put out on the court tonight, our defense and passing was amazing,” Boyle said.

East Bay did not let the Wildcats off easy in this set and made sure they trailed right behind. But right behind is where they stayed as Chico took the set 25-22.

Chico State was looking to take the game on the fourth set. While East Bay fought to stay in the game.

“We switched up our lineup and Kim and Kennedy Greenwood really stepped up and passed very well,” Boyle said.

There was a total of 17 ties between the fourth set, both teams wanted it. For most of the set the win looked in favor of Chico State but the Pioneers made a small comeback of three points that earned them the win.

This deflated the Wildcats spirit which caused them to hit a low point, East Bay took advantage and started off with a 2-10 lead early on in the fifth set.

After a much needed Chico timeout, the squad came with new energy putting themselves at 7-11 after many successful plays. The Pioneers were fuming as the Wildcats managed to move up on the scoreboard, but East Bay ended the game with a score of 9-15.

Despite the loss, Chico State’s Brooke Fogel looks forward to the next game.

“We know we have something to prove coming out of the gate, losing game 5 lights a fire inside of us and makes us hungry for the next opportunity to compete,” Fogel said.

This match marked the end of the road trip for the women’s team and are scheduled to take on the Otters at home on Friday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.

“We need to be confident but hungry, we’re at the tail end of a tough stretch on the road and I’m excited to be back in Acker,” Boyle said.

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