Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s women's volleyball team saved its best for last in its 2013 home finale Friday in the Eagles Nest.
The Golden Eagles played one of their best matches of the year and knocked off No. 12 UC San Diego, 25-18, 25-20, 24-26, 29-27 in a California Collegiate Athletic Association match. Cal State L.A. (16-13, 11-10 CCAA) completed its first regular-season sweep of UC San Diego since 2008 and also guaranteed itself a 17th consecutive winning season.
The Golden Eagles edged the Tritons in a five-set match in La Jolla on Oct. 19.
Iona Lofrano had 21 kills and 18 digs to lead an effective Cal State L.A. attack. Kymberly Silveyra had 13 kills and 23 digs, Loreal Carter had 12 kills and 11 digs and JamieAnn Bero had 10 kills and five blocks.
Caitlin Brenton had 16 kills and 11 digs for UC San Diego (24-5, 16-5 CCAA), which entered the week as the No. 1-ranked team in the NCAA Division II West Region. Sophie Rowe had 14 kills and 27 digs and Danielle Dahle had 11 kills and 10 digs.
The Golden Eagles had a 69-61 edge in kills and outhit the Tritons, .243 - .213. UC San Diego had a 10-8 advantage in blocks and both teams matched service aces with service errors. Cal State L.A. had seven aces and seven errors, while UC San Diego had three aces and three errors.
April Reyes had a match-high 30 digs to lead a strong defensive showing by the Golden Eagles. Alexandra Bura had 57 set assists, five kills and an ace.
In a highly entertaining match with plenty of long rallies, both teams wound up with 100 digs.
Cal State L.A. took early control of the match and threatened to make it a three-set sweep.
The Golden Eagles raced to a 10-4 lead in the opening frame and never let the Tritons climb back into it. A block by Carter and Bero got the Golden Eagles to set point at 24-17 and a kill by Silveyra gave the Golden Eagles the first set.
The second set was tied as late as 17-17 before a kill by Lofrano, a block by Lofrano and a block by Bethanee Boggs gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good. UC San Diego got as close as 20-19, but a service error and two straight kills by Bero gave the Golden Eagles a 23-19 edge. A kill by Lofrano got the Golden Eagles to set point and an ace by Bura gave the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead.
The third set was tight and the Golden Eagles got their first match point at 24-23 after a kill by Bero. UC San Diego evened it at 24-24 and then got kills by Dahle and Kameron Cooper to send the match to a fourth set.
Both teams had good runs early in the fourth set as UC San Diego opened up a 7-3 lead only to see Cal State L.A. surge ahead, 12-9. UC San Diego took a 19-16 lead, but kills by Boggs and Lofrano tightened things up.
Cal State L.A. got another match point at 24-23 after a kill by Bero, but a kill by Dahle tied it at 24-24 and a kill by Brenton gave the Tritons a set point at 25-24. Silveyra got a kill to tie it at 25-25 and a kill by Carter tied it again at 26-26. Brenton gave the Tritons their third and final set point after a kill, but the Golden Eagles responded with kills by Boggs and Lofrano to get to match point and the contest ended after a UC San Diego attack error.
Cal State L.A. will conclude its regular season on Saturday with a match at first-place Cal State San Bernardino.
