The Golden Eagles swept past Western Oregon, 25-18, 25-18, 25-21, early Saturday afternoon and then came back to post a 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 25-14 victory over Alaska Anchorage later in the day. Cal State L.A. (3-1) won its last three matches after falling to No. 17 Western Washington in five sets in the season opener.
Marquis Mora and
Samantha Potter were both named to the All-Tournament team.
Natalia Gonzalez led the way with 27 kills in the two matches, including 16 against Alaska Anchorage. Potter had 15 kills in the win over Alaska Anchorage and Mora had 12 kills and five blocks.
Cal State L.A. had a 61-55 edge in kills against Alaska Anchorage (4-4) and a big 11-3 advantage in blocks. The Golden Eagles also limited Alaska Anchorage to a .181 hitting percentage.
Robyn Burton had a match-high 19 kills for Alaska Anchorage.
Kaylynne Taeatafa had eight kills, nine digs and 49 set assists for Cal State L.A., while
Reanna Hill and
April Reyes had 15 digs each. Hill also had a team-high seven blocks.
Cal State L.A. trailed in the opening set, 23-22, but scored the final three points on a kill by Gonzalez, a block by Mora and Gonzalez and a kill by Gonzalez.
Alaska Anchorage took a 25-23 decision in the second set, but Cal State L.A. came back to win the final two sets and the match. The Golden Eagles trailed, 18-16, but scored five straight points to take the lead for good. Three kills by Gonzalez accounted for the Golden Eagles' final three points of the set.
The Golden Eagles raced out to a 11-2 lead in the final set and never let up. A block by Hill and
Chelsea Hamilton got the Golden Eagles to match point and a kill by
Alexandra Risko ended the match.
The Golden Eagles started their day with a three-set sweep over Western Oregon.
Gonzalez led a balanced attack with 11 kills and a .450 hitting percentage. Mora had eight kills in just 11 attacks and added two blocks. Her hitting percentage was a sizzling .636.
Potter had seven kills and two blocks and
Mary Laupepa had five kills, three service aces and four blocks.
Corynn Kopra had 11 kills to lead Western Oregon, while Danielle Reese had seven kills.
The Golden Eagles had a 43-30 edge in kills and a 6-3 advantage in blocks. Cal State L.A. hit at a .261 percentage and limited Western Oregon to just a .115 clip.
Cal State L.A. also had eight service aces – three by Laupepa and one each from
Kaylynne Taeatafa, Risko, Hamilton,
Briana Fields and Reyes. Taeatafa had 36 set assists and 11 digs. Reyes had a team-high 19 digs.
The Golden Eagles used a 7-0 run to erase a 3-2 deficit in the opening set and never looked back. A block by Laupepa and Hill and a kill by Potter opened up a 21-15 lead and the Golden Eagles took the first set thanks to a pair of kills by Mora.
The Golden Eagles jumped to a big early lead in the second set and maintained an advantage throughout the set. Western Oregon sliced a 15-9 deficit to 18-16, but kills by Potter and Laupepa and a block by Potter and Laupepa stretched the lead to 21-16 and the Golden Eagles led the rest of the way.
The third set was tied at 13-13, but a service error by Western Oregon and an ace by Hamilton put the Golden Eagles ahead for good. A kill by Gonzalez got the Golden Eagles to match point at 24-20 and another kill by Gonzalez finished the contest.
