Box Score

LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s women's volleyball team was able to push defending California Collegiate Athletic Association champion Cal State San Bernardino, but that was about it.

 

The Golden Eagles made the Coyotes work for a 25-23, 25-20, 25-20 victory in the Eagles Nest Friday night. Cal State L.A. had impressive rallies late in the first two sets and then had a lead in the third set, only to see Cal State San Bernardino ultimately close the door and record a sweep.

 

Cal State L.A. (4-4, 1-2 CCAA) was playing in its first home game of the season, while Cal State San Bernardino (7-0, 3-0) was playing its first road contest.

 

Neither offense was able to click on all cylinders in the match. Cal State San Bernardino had a 39-28 edge in kills and hit at a .264 clip to just .141 for the Golden Eagles. Both teams had 14 service errors , while Cal State L.A. had a 6-5 edge in service aces. The Coyotes had a slim 8-7 edge in blocks.

 

Samantha Middleborn had 12 kills in 19 swings for a .579 hitting percentage, but she was the only player on either side who had more than 10 kills in the match. Natalia Gonzalez had eight kills for the Golden Eagles, while Kaylynne Taeatafa had seven kills in just 11 swings with 16 set assists and six digs.

 

Marquis Mora and Mary Laupepa had two service aces each, while Colby Joseph and Kymberly Silveyra had one each. April Reyes had a team-high 10 digs.

 

Camille Smith had 30 set assists for Cal State San Bernardino, while Kelcie Tolan led with 16 digs.

 

The Golden Eagles fell behind in the opening set, 17-9, but clawed back to make things tight at the end. Cal State L.A. took advantage of a service error, a kill by Chelsea Hamilton and an attack error to make it 23-21. After a kill by Priscilla Collins made it 24-21, the Golden Eagles got kills from Hamilton and Taeatafa to pull to within 24-23. A kill by Megan Johnson, though, won the set for the Coyotes.

 

Cal State L.A. led early in the second set, but the Coyotes got on a roll and opened up a 19-11 advantage. Once again, the Golden Eagles rallied and pulled to within 21-17 following back-to-back kills by Taeatafa. A kill by Gonzalez made it 22-18, but that was as close as the Golden Eagles would get.

 

Cal State L.A. surged to an 8-2 lead in the third set and still had a 12-7 advantage following a block by Taeatafa and Mora. Cal State San Bernardino, though, went on a 10-2 run to take the lead and never looked back. A kill by Jillian Paul got the Golden Eagles to within 17-15 and an ace by Silveyra made it 23-20, but the Coyotes got the final two points to close out the match.

 

Cal State L.A. will return to action on Saturday night with a home match against undefeated UC San Diego in the Eagles Nest.