Box Score

CHICO -- Cal State L.A.'s volleyball team came painfully close to ending its 2011 regular season on an exhilarating note.

The Golden Eagles and Chico State locked up in a thrilling five-set match on Friday night in Acker Gym, but it was the host Wildcats who prevailed in a tight 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-13 California Collegiate Athletic Association match. Cal State L.A. (14-13, 11-11 CCAA) ended its season with five wins in its last seven contests and both losses in that stretch came in five-set decisions.

Natalia Gonzalez had 15 kills to lead the Golden Eagles, while Chelsea Hamilton had 12 kills. Marquis Mora added nine kills and seven blocks.

Chico State (18-9, 13-8 CCAA) got a match-high 21 kills from Alex Shurtz and 17 kills from Ellis Larronde. Jessica Leek had 12 kills and three blocks.

The Wildcats had a 68-58 advantage in kills and hit at a .190 percentage to .184 for the Golden Eagles. Cal State L.A. had a 9-1 advantage in service aces and a 13-6 advantage in blocks. The Golden Eagles, though, also had nine service errors to only three for the Wildcats.

Kymberly Silveyra had eight kills, 15 digs and three service aces, while Kaylynne Taeatafa had 46 set assists and 17 digs. April Reyes had a team-high 18 digs.

After dropping the first set, the Golden Eagles rallied from a 16-12 deficit in the second set. A block from Mora and Taeatafa broke a 17-17 tie and Cal State L.A. didn't trail again. A kill by Loreal Carter, a block by Mary Laupepa and kills by Silveyra and Carter extended the Golden Eagles' lead to 24-19 and an attack error by the Wildcats ended the set.

Chico State led for much of the third set, although back-to-back kills by Briana Fields brought the Golden Eagles to within 20-19. The Wildcats responded by scoring the next three points and closed out the set.

Cal State L.A. was able to extend the match thanks to a resilient effort in the fourth set. Chico State opened up leads of 10-4 and 13-7, but the Golden Eagles fought back. Kills by Mora and Gonzalez and a kill and two service aces by Silveyra gave the Golden Eagles a 19-16 lead. Cal State L.A. extended the lead to 23-19 and got the final two points of the set on kills by Hamilton.

The fifth set had 10 ties and four lead changes. Cal State L.A. led only twice, the final time at 10-9 after consecutive attack errors by the Wildcats. Chico State, though, scored the next four points and never trailed again. Kills by Mora and Laupepa brought the Golden Eagles to within 13-12 and a kill by Gonzalez made it 14-13 and saved one match point before Chico State cashed in on its second.