ARCATA, Calif.--- The Cal Poly Humboldt Volleyball Team dropped their home and CCAA opener to the visiting Pioneers of Cal State East Bay in five sets on Thursday afternoon at Lumberjack Arena. After winning the first two sets 25-18 and 25-20, the Lumberjacks failed to claim the deciding set, dropping the next three 23-25, 17-25 and 9-15. Lindsey McLaughlin finished with a team high 13 kills while Nicole Yakushenok finished with 21 assists in the loss. Kaitlyn Patterson added an additional six aces and 16 digs.

FIRST SET: The game started off evenly, with both teams swapping points. A service error by Riley Tishlarich allowed East Bay to make a short run and take a 12-9 lead. The Jacks would respond with a kill by Malia Coyle and a service ace by McLaughlin to cut the lead to 12-11. Both teams kept it within a point until Humboldt rattled off eight unanswered points to take a 24-16 lead. Another McLaughlin kill sealed the set win for the Jacks, 25-18.

SECOND SET: The Jacks came out firing on all cylinders to kick off set number two, jumping out to an early 10-3 lead. East Bay would respond with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to two, capped off by two kills by the Pioneer's Lexi Pagani. East Bay tied the game at 11 with a Kara Green kill from Ali Santoyo. The teams would continue to swap the lead within a point of each other until a Humboldt attack error gave the Pioneers a 16-14 advantage. The Lumberjacks rallied to score three straight points and regain the lead off a Kaitlyn Patterson service ace. Both teams would remain within two points of each other until yet another kill by McLaughlin started a 3-0 run to expand the Lumberjack lead, 23-19. A kill by Riley White followed by an East Bay attack error ended the second set, 25-20. 

THIRD SET: East Bay took an early 9-5 lead to start the third set. Humboldt would claw back to within a point off a kill by Amanda Klotz and an East Bay error to trail 16-15. A service ace by Patterson tied the game at 21, but the Pioneers took three of the next four points to grab a 24-22 advantage. A kill by Mia Jordan ended the set in favor of East Bay. 

FOURTH SET: The Lumberjacks took advantage of opponent errors to jump out to a 3-1 lead early on, but East Bay would respond with six of the next seven points to take a 7-4 advantage. Another East Bay run jump started by a Karis Carter kill would blow the set open, giving the Pioneeers a 19-12 advantage. The Lumberjacks would claw back to within four points of the lead, but would eventually drop the set 25-17.

FIFTH SET: East Bay would capitalize on their late match momentum by jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the deciding set. Humboldt would rally to come within five points, but a kill by Kara Green would seal the set and the game for the Pioneers, 15-9. 

STAT LEADERS: Lindsey McLaughlin recorded a team high 13 kills and four aces to lead the Jacks offensive efforts, while Nicole Yakushenok recorded 21 assists. Kaitlyn Patterson recorded 16 digs and six service aces while Macy Thomas recorded another nine digs to help defensively.  

NEXT UP: The Jacks finish off the weekend hosting Cal State San Marcos on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 5pm at Lumberjack Arena.