LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s women's volleyball team picked up an important California Collegiate Athletic Association victory Saturday night over conference newcomer Cal State San Marcos, but it certainly wasn't easy.
The Golden Eagles had to dig deep to outlast the Cougars, 25-23, 15-25, 25-22, 25-21 on Saturday in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (13-5, 6-4 CCAA) built leads in the third and fourth sets, but had to overcome rallies by the Cougars (4-15, 1-10 CCAA) in each set.
Iona Lofrano had 22 kills and 10 digs to lead the Golden Eagles, while
Lauren Gomez had 14 kills.
Jordan Banich had 16 kills to lead the Cougars, while Taylor DeGraaf had 10 kills and 18 digs.
The Golden Eagles also got eight kills each from
JamieAnn Bero and
Taylor Kushner and seven kills in eight swings from
Mia Alcaraz.
Kelsey Molnar had 56 set assists and
Makayla Taylor had 13 digs.
Cal State L.A. had a 63-55 advantage in kills and hit at a .302 percentage to .295 for the Cougars.
The Golden Eagles had only three service aces and 10 service errors, while the Cougars had five aces and six errors.
Cal State L.A. overcame a big challenge in the opening sets and got kills from Kushner and Lofrano to break a 23-23 tie.
Cal State San Marcos then played its best volleyball of the match in the second set and posted a resounding 25-15 win to even things up.
Cal State L.A. opened up a 16-10 lead in the third set, but Cal State San Marcos came roaring back and tied it at 18-18 after a kill by Brooke Butler.
The set stayed close all the way to the end. A block by Bero gave the Golden Eagles a 23-21 lead, but a kill by Banich made it 23-22. Lofrano, though, put down back-to-back kills to give the Golden Eagles the set.
The fourth set was much like the third. Cal State L.A. took a 17-10 lead, only to see Cal State San Marcos battle back. The Cougars got to within 19-18, but four kills by Lofrano and a net violation got the Golden Eagles to match point at 24-20. After the Cougars staved off one match point, Gomez delivered a kill to end it.
Cal State L.A. will return to action with a non-conference match at home against Azusa Pacific on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m.
