CSULA-NU Box Score

NU-AAU Box Score

LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s women's volleyball team got off its 2010 season off to a quick start in the Cal State L.A.-Cal Poly Pomona Tournament.

The Golden Eagles swept past Northwood (MI), 25-19, 25-11, 25-16 Thursday night in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A., ranked 14^th in the nation in a preseason poll by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, pounded out 17 service aces and hit at a .306 percentage.

 

Zuzana Cizova had nine kills, five service aces and three blocks to lead the way, while Natalia Gonzalez had nine kills and one ace. Marquis Mora had seven kills and four blocks, while Amrita Tuladhar had 25 set assists, three service aces and three blocks, two of them solos.

 

Northwood (1-1), which opened the tournament earlier Thursday with a five-set win over Academy of Art, got eight kills and two aces from Sladjana Mitrovic. The Timberwolves hit at a .073 percentage and had three aces.

 

Cal State L.A. also had a 7-5 edge in blocks.

 

The Golden Eagles also got four service aces from newcomer Alexandra Risko.

 

The first set was tight throughout and Cal State L.A. led just 18-17 before a kill by Cizova and a Northwood attack error made it 20-17. The Timberwolves were still within 21-19 before a kill by Cizova, an attack error, a service ace by Cizova and a kill by Gonzalez ended the first set.

 

Cal State L.A. jumped out to a quick 16-6 lead in the second set and was never threatened. Risko had four aces, three of them in a row, during a six-point serving run that gave the Golden Eagles a 10-3 lead. A kill by Mora, a service ace by Stefanie Gay and a block by Tuladhar closed out the second set for the Golden Eagles.

 

The Golden Eagles never trailed in the third set and promptly closed out the match. After a kill by Angie Sparling pulled the Timberwolves to within 7-5, Cal State L.A. steadily increased its lead to put the contest away. An ace by Chelsea Hamilton gave the Golden Eagles a 20-12 lead and a block by Mora eventually gave Cal State L.A. match point at 24-14. A kill by Mitrovic and a Cal State L.A. attack error kept the match going, but Gonzalez, returning after a two-year absence, ended it with a kill.

In the opening match on Thursday, Northwood outlasted Academy of Art, 25-23, 23-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-11 in the Eagles Nest. Sladjana Mitrovic had 21 kills, Sara Skornia had 14 kills and Tatjana Rajic had 11. Academy of Art got 22 kills from Dan Yang and eight kills each from Nicolette Hagan and Anglea Heath.

Cal State L.A. will play two matches at home on Saturday, at 1 p.m. against Simon Fraser and at 7 p.m. against Academy of Art.