Box Score SEASIDE -- Cal State L.A.'s women's volleyball team did not enjoy a positive ending to its most recent road trip.
One night after climbing out of a 2-0 hole and beating Cal State East Bay in five sets, the Golden Eagles fell behind 2-0 again and couldn't recover in a 26-24, 25-10, 26-24 loss to Cal State Monterey Bay in The Kelp Bed. Cal State L.A. (10-12, 8-7 CCAA) lost for the third time in four matches and also had a five-match road winning streak snapped by Cal State Monterey Bay (11-11, 5-9 CCAA).
Cal State Monterey Bay dominated every statistical category in the three-set decision. The Otters had a 39-31 edge in kills, a 9-4 advantage in blocks, a 9-7 edge in service aces and a .202-.040 advantage in hitting percentage. It was especially glaring in a nightmare of a second set for the Golden Eagles when they had just five kills and a whopping 13 errors.
Sukhjit Athwal had nine kills and 13 digs to lead Cal State L.A., while
Marquis Mora had seven kills, two blocks and two service aces.
Julie Ashen led Cal State Monterey Bay with 14 kills and three blocks, whle Jessica Malcolm had 11 kills.
The Golden Eagles missed a golden opportunity to take the opening set. Cal State L.A. tied the set at 20-20 after a kill by
Reanna Hill and extended the edge to 22-20 after a block by Hill and
Loreal Carter and a kill by Athwal. A kill by
Kymberly Silveyra got the Golden Eagles to set point at 24-22, but the Otters won the next four points to take the set.
The second set wss a disaster for the Golden Eagles. After forging a 7-7 tie, the Golden Eagles were outscored the remainder of the set, 18-3, to fall behind by two sets.
Cal State L.A. had a chance to extend the match, but faltered late against the Otters. After falling behind 9-3, the Golden Eagles surged to take a 16-14 lead following a Silveyra ace. A kill by Silveyra opened up a 21-19 advantage for the Golden Eagles before the Otters scored four straight points to take a 23-21 edge. A kill by Hill and two Cal State Monterey Bay attack errors got the Golden Eagles to set point at 24-23, but the Otters scored the next three points to win the match.
Cal State L.A. will return to action with a road match at Sonoma State next Friday, Nov. 2.
