Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s women's volleyball team finally protected a lead, although it wasn't easy.
The Golden Eagles put an end to a frustrating two-match losing streak by holding off Cal State East Bay, 25-17, 25-21, 24-26, 25-20 Saturday night in a California Collegiate Athletic Association match in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (6-5, 2-2 CCAA) had held 2-1 set leads in its previous two matches, but couldn't hold on against No. 13 Sonoma State and No. 4 UC San Diego.
Cal State East Bay (2-11, 0-5 CCAA) didn't make it easy for the Golden Eagles, fighting off a match point in the third set and then battling point-for-point through most of the fourth set. It wasn't until
Gabriela Bulawczyk pounded down back-to-back kills that the Golden Eagles were finally able to end the match.
Bulawczyk had a match-high 18 kills, 12 digsa nd four blocks.
Chelsea Hamilton had 11 kills and three blocks and
Mary Laupepa had 10 kills and seven blocks.
Leta Pickett had 10 kills to lead Cal State East Bay, while Brianna Bryant had seven kills and seven blocks.
The Golden Eagles had a 56-42 edge in kills and hit at a .238 percentage to .122 for the Pioneers. Cal State L.A. also had a 13-8.5 advantage in blocks. Cal State L.A. had eight service aces and 10 service errors, while Cal State East Bay had five aces and seven service errors.
The Golden Eagles broke open the first set with an 11-2 run that broke a 8-8 tie and gave them a 19-10 lead. Bulawczyk had back-to-back aces to end that run. After Cal State East Bay closed to within 21-15, kills by Hamilton, De La Rosa, Cizova and Bulawczyk ultimately gave the Golden Eagles the first set.
Cal State East Bay jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the second set and was still tied at 20-20 after a kill by Amanda Limeberger, but Cal State L.A. got kills from Bulawczyk and Laupepa to take the lead for good. The Pioneer made it 22-21 after a kill by Sukhjit Athwal, but an attack error, a bad set and an ace by De La Rosa gave the Golden Eagles the second set.
Cal State L.A. then seemed poised for a sweep after jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the third set. Cal State East Bay took the lead for the first time with a 6-0 run that included a kill by Katie Gellerman, a block by Bryant and Gellerman, a block by Roxanne Neely and Bryant, an ace by Limeberger and a kill by Neely. The Golden Eagles rallied and got to match point at 24-23 after an attack error. The Pioneers, though, got a kill by Pickett to even it at 24-24 and captured the set after back-to-back kills by Gellerman.
The Golden Eagles fell behind 10-6 in the fourth set before rallying. Cal State L.A. still trailed, 12-10, but a four-point run fueled by a kill by Bulawczyk, an ace by De La Rosa, a bad set and a kill by Bulawczyk put the Golden Eagles ahead. The Pioneers tied it for a final time at 14-14 and were still within striking distance at 22-20 after an ace by Lauren Massa, but the Golden Eagles got a quick kill by De La Rosa and two more kills by Bulawczyk to end it.
Cal State L.A. will play at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Tuesday before returning home for matches next weekend against Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State.
