Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s women's volleyball team got its second day of tournament play off to a better start Saturday in the Cal State L.A./Cal Poly Pomona Invitational, but was disappointed by the ending.
 
The Golden Eagles opened the day with a solid effort in a 27-29, 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 victory over Point Loma Nazarene early Saturday, but dropped a heartbreaking five-set decision in the evening when Cal State San Marcos posted a 25-20, 26-28, 25-20, 14-25, 18-16 victory in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (2-5) went 1-2 in its tournament and also fell to 0-3 in five-set matches this season.
 
Cal State San Marcos (13-5) won both its matches on Saturday. The Cougars also beat Cal State Dominguez Hills, 25-23, 25-22, 27-25, in the afternoon.
 
Cal State San Marcos had a 71-62 edge in kills, but Cal State L.A. outhit the Cougars, .221 - .193. Part of that was because of a 14-4 advantage for the Golden Eagles in blocks.
 
Marquis Mora had 15 kills and 10 blocks for the Golden Eagles and hit at a .406 percentage. Sukhjit Athwal had 14 kills, Iona Lofrano had 13 kills, 10 digs and four blocks and Kymberly Silveyra had 12 kills and nine digs.
 
Lindsey Mitchell had a match-high 20 kills and 15 digs to lead Cal State San Marcos. Taylor DeGraaf added 14 kills and 16 digs and Alyssa Foster had 10 kills.
 
April Reyes had a team-high 23 digs for the Golden Eagles, while Alexandra Bura had 31 set assists, eight digs and two blocks.
 
After falling behind 2-1, the Golden Eagles had one of their best sets of the season, rolling to a 25-14 decision and forcing a fifth set. Leading 12-9, the Golden Eagles rolled off 10 straight points behind the serving of Reyes and some timely blocking. After a kill by Lofrano made it 15-9, the Golden Eagles got a block from Mora and Lofrano, a solo block by Lofrano, a block by Mora and Lofrano, a kill by Mora and a block by Athwal and Mora to put the set out of reach. A block by Mora and Bura got the Golden Eagles to set point and a kill by Mora sent the match to a fifth set.
 
The fifth set was tight throughout and both teams held match points. Cal State L.A. had a 15-14 lead after a kill by Silveyra, but a kill by Mitchell made it 15-15. A service error gave the Golden Eagles another match point, but Cal State San Marcos got two kills by DeGraaf and an ace from Brittany Thompson to end the match.
 
Cal State L.A. opened the day with a win over Point Loma. The Sea Lions (3-5) had a 60-45 advantage in kills, but Cal State L.A. outhit the Sea Lions, .167-.130 and had a 9-6 edge in blocks.
 
Cal State L.A. also did much better at the serving line, recording five aces and five errors. On Friday, Cal State L.A. had 15 service errors and only two aces in a loss to Azusa Pacific. Point Loma had four aces and 12 errors.
 
Mora led a balanced Cal State L.A. attack with 12 kills and four blocks. Silveyra had eight kills and a match-high 22 digs, while Reanna Hill and Athwal had eight kills each.
 
Briana Vieth had 14 kills to lead the Sea Lions, while Delany McCraney had 12 kills and Kelli LeClair added 11 kills.
 
Shea Hamilton had 22 set assists over the final two sets for Cal State L.A., while Bura had 16 set assists, 13 digs and five blocks.
 
After dropping the first set, Cal State L.A. jumped out to a big early lead in the second set before hanging on to even the match. A kill by Mora, a block by Hill and Bura and a kill by Samantha Potter gave the Golden Eagles a 14-6 lead. Point Loma kept chipping away at the lead and eventually pulled even at 23-23 before back-to-back kills by Athwal gave the Golden Eagles the set.
 
Cal State L.A. trailed early in the third set, but took their first lead at 17-16 after an attack error and never looked back. A kill by Lofrano gave the Golden Eagles a 21-17 lead and a service ace by Reyes made it 23-18. A pair of attack errors by the Sea Lions ultimately ended the set.
 
The Golden Eagles then came up big down the stretch to close out the match. A kill by Sylveyra got the Golden Eagles the serve back at 19-20 and Silveyra took it from there, serving out the final six points. She had a service ace to give the Golden Eagles the lead for good at 21-20 and a kill by Hill, two kills by Athway and a kill by Lofrano ended the match.
 
Cal State L.A. will now begin California Collegiate Athletic Association play on Friday, Sept. 14, at Cal State San Bernardino.