LOS ANGELES – Cal State LA's women's volleyball team was at its best when it mattered most Wednesday night in its non-conference match against Azusa Pacific.
 
The Golden Eagles prevailed late in all three sets of a 25-23, 25-20, 25-23 victory over the Cougars in the Eagles Nest. Cal State LA (14-5) won its third straight match with the hard-fought victory over Azusa Pacific (8-9).
 
JamieAnn Bero led a balanced Cal State LA attack with 10 kills and four blocks. She hit at a .588 percentage. Iona Lofrano had nine kills and six digs, while Taylor Kushner also had nine kills and six digs.
 
Mia Alcaraz had another efficient match, delivering seven kills in 10 swings for a hitting percentage of .700.
 
Ashley Midland had nine kills and three blocks to lead the Cougars, while Ally Gonzalez also had nine kills.
 
Cal State LA got 36 set assists from Kelsey Molnar, who also had seven digs and two service aces. Makayla Taylor had a team-high 10 digs. Lauren Gomez had seven kills, including the final two of the match.
 
Both teams had 44 kills, but Cal State LA hit at a .303 percentage and Azusa Pacific hit .198. The Cougars had 21 hitting errors to 11 for the Golden Eagles.
 
Cal State LA had a narrow 6-5 edge in blocks and had a 5-2 advantage in service aces.
 
All three sets were close throughout. Cal State LA had a 19-13 lead in the first set, but Azusa Pacific battled all the way back to tie it at 23-23 on a block by Mattie Shelford and Midland. A kill by Lofrano, though, gave the Golden Eagles a set point at 24-23 and they closed out the frame on an Azusa Pacific hitting error.
 
The second set was also close. The Cougars once again rallied to close to within 22-20 after a kill by Gonzalez, but a dig by Taylor that went over the net and fell on Azusa Pacific's side for a kill gave the Golden Eagles a 23-20 lead. Two straight attack errors by the Cougars gave the Golden Eagles the set.
 
Azusa Pacific grabbed an early lead in the third set, 12-7, but this time it was the Golden Eagles who rallied to make the set a cliff-hanger. Kills by Alcaraz and Kushner tied it at 14-14 and the Golden Eagles eventually moved out to a 20-17 lead after an ace by Kushner, a kill by Bero and an attack error.
 
Cal State LA saw Azusa Pacific rally back and the Cougars grabbed a 23-22 lead after a kill by Crystal Dedes. The Golden Eagles, though, won the final three points of the match on a service error and back-to-back kills from Gomez.
 
Cal State LA will return to conference play on Friday with a match at Cal State Dominguez Hills.