Box Score LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s women's volleyball team played one of its best matches of the season, yet had to endure one of its more heartbreaking defeats as well.
 
The Golden Eagles came up just short against No. 24 Sonoma State, falling in a five-set marathon to the Seawolves, 14-25, 18-25, 33-31, 25-18, 18-16 Saturday afternoon in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (5-9, 3-4 CCAA) dropped its third match of the week, but the Golden Eagles certainly played well enough to win on Saturday. Cal State L.A. had four match points in the fifth set, but couldn't convert on any of them.
 
Marquis Mora had a dominating performance, recording 19 kills with a .471 hitting percentage and also setting a program record with 14 block assists as part of her 16 blocks. She ended up with a match-high 30 points.
 
Loreal Carter also had a tremendous match, posting only the 12^th triple-double of the season in the NCAA Division II. She had 12 kills, 10 digs and 10 blocks and became the first player to record a triple-double without one of the stat categories being set assists.
 
The Golden Eagles also got 12 kills from Samantha Potter, seven kills and a .583 hitting percentage from #Sukhjit Athwal and seven kills, four blocks and a .375 hitting percentage from Reanna Hill.
 
Sonoma State (11-3, 5-1 CCAA) had five players reach double figures in kills, led by Madelyn Densberger with 14 kills. Kelsey Hull had 13 kills, Allyson Sather had 12 kills, Caylie Seitz had 11 kills and Brooke Moore had 10 kills.
 
Cal State L.A.'s Alexandra Bura had 42 set assists and seven blocks, while April Reyes had 15 digs.
 
The Golden Eagles had an overwhelming 23-6 advantage in blocks and hit at a .287 percentage while holding Sonoma State to just .179 hitting. Sonoma State had a 12-7 advantage in aces and a 72-61 edge in kills.
 
The Golden Eagles started well and won the first set easily. Cal State L.A. opened up a 23-11 lead following an ace by Mora and was never threatened.
 
Sonoma State evened things up in the second set, opening up an 18-12 advantage and never looking back.
 
The third set was highly competitive. The Golden Eagles held set points at 25-24 and 27-26 and fought off six set points at 24-23, 26-25, 28-27, 29-28, 30-29 and 31-30. A kill by Carter got the Golden Eagles even at 31-31, but a service error and a kill by Densberger gave the set to the Seawolves.
 
Cal State L.A. bounced back impressively, though, and rolled through the fourth set. A block by Bura and Mora helped the Golden Eagles open up a 20-12 lead and Cal State L.A. made it 24-14 after a kill by Carter. After Sonoma State rallied to close it to 24-18, a kill by Carter sent the match to a fifth set.
 
Neither team led by more than two points in the final set. Cal State L.A. opened up a 6-4 lead before Sonoma State scored four straight points to make it 8-6. An ace by Shea Hamilton gave the Golden Eagles two set points at 14-12, but a service error and an ace by Densberger knotted it at 14-14. Cal State L.A. got another set point at 15-14, but a block by Brooke Moore and Sather tied it again. The Golden Eagles got their final match point after a kill by Potter, but a kill by Hull tied it at 16-16 and a block by Regan Richert and an attack error ended the match.
 
Cal State L.A. will return to action on Thursday with a conference match at Cal Poly Pomona.