Box Score

LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s volleyball team wasted little time getting a big win over one of the California Collegiate Athletic Association's top teams.

 

The Golden Eagles hit at a sizzling .356 clip and roared past Cal State East Bay, 25-21, 25-12, 25-14 Friday night in the Eagles Nest in the Billie Jean King Sports Complex. Cal State L.A. (14-9, 11-8 CCAA) won its third straight match, all by sweeps.

 

The Pioneers (18-6, 13-6 CCAA), who are ranked 25^th in the nation, had won seven of their last eight matches coming into Friday's match. Cal State L.A. pulled to within two games of second place in the conference with three matches remaining.

 

Marquis Mora had 10 kills and four blocks and a hitting percentage of .625 after taking just 16 swings with no errors. Zuzana Cizova added nine kills, two aces and seven digs, while Chelsea Hamilton had eight kills and four blocks

 

Brianna Bryant had eight kills to lead the Pioneers, who were held to a hitting percentage of .044.

 

Cal State L.A. had a big edge in kills, 40-24, and also had a 7-1 advantage in blocks. Stefanie Gay had 11 digs for the Golden Eagles, while Jordyn Moscoso had 25 set assists and nine digs.

 

The Golden Eagles started slowly, but staged a big rally to take the first set. Cal State East Bay held leads of 15-9 and 18-14 before the Golden Eagles hit their stride. The Golden Eagles scored seven straight points to erase a 20-17 lead, largely behind the serving of Moscoso. A kill by Laupepa started the run and an ace by Moscoso made it 20-19. A kill by Cizova tied the set and a block by Hamilton and Mary Laupepa put the Golden Eagles ahead for good. A kill by Hamilton made it 22-20 and two straight attack errors gave the Golden Eagles set point at 24-20. A kill by Bryant saved one set point, but a kill by Cizova ended it.

 

The Golden Eagles carried that momentum into the second set and overcame an early 3-1 deficit with a huge run. Cal State L.A. opened up a 20-8 lead after a kill by Hamilton and never looked back.

 

Cal State L.A. remained on fire after the intermission and put the match away. Strong serving runs by Natalia Gonzalez and Gay helped Cal State L.A. extend a slim lead to a 16-8 advantage. A kill by Laupepa stretched the lead to 20-10 and kills later in the set by Sade Greene and Mora made it 24-13. Cal State L.A. wrapped up the match on an attack error by the Pioneers.

 

Cal State L.A. will play its final home match of the season on Saturday night against UC San Diego and honor seniors Amrita Tuladhar, Zuzana Cizova, Kassie Faulkner and Stefanie Gay in pre-match ceremonies.