LA JOLLA -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team put up quite a battle, but was unable to turn the tables on host UC San Diego in the inaugural California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament.

The Golden Eagles fought back from an 0-2 deficit with an inspiring victory in the third set, but UC San Diego was resilient and posted a 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 25-15 win Thursday night in RIMAC Arena. No. 6 seed Cal State LA (19-11) seemed to have momentum heading into the fourth set, but No. 3 seed UC San Diego (19-10) scored the first two points and never trailed after jumping out to a quick 14-5 lead.

Iona Lofrano had another sensational match for the Golden Eagles, recording a match-high 22 kills to go along with 13 digs, one service ace and a pair of solo blocks. JamieAnn Bero returned from injury and had nine kills and two blocks, while Taylor Kushner had seven kills and two aces and Angela Thurmond had seven kills and two blocks.

Danielle Dahle had 19 kills to lead UC San Diego, while Meagan Wright had 17 kills and 15 digs.

UC San Diego had a 61-51 edge in kills and outhit the Golden Eagles, .238-.188. UC San Diego had a slim 7-6 edge in blocks and both teams had five service aces.

Sydney Kralj had 31 set assists and 14 digs for the Golden Eagles, while Makayla Taylor had a team-high 19 digs.

Cal State LA lost twice during the regular season in three-set sweeps, but put up a much better battle on Thursday. The Golden Eagles fell into an early 17-9 hole in the opening set, but closed to within 21-20 after a kill by Bero, a service ace by Lauren Gomez, an attack error, a kill by Lofrano and a block by Kushner and Bero. The Golden Eagles got to within 22-21 after a kill by Bero and to 23-22 after a kill by Lofrano, but a kill by Wright and a block by Alyssa McNeely and Morgan Kissick gave the first set to the Tritons.

UC San Diego grabbed a 17-10 lead in the second set and still held a 24-17 lead before a kill by Bero, a service ace by Gomez and a kill by Lofrano made it 24-20 and prompted a UC San Diego timeout. Another kill by Lofrano made it 24-21, but a kill by Dahle closed out the set.

After the intermission, Cal State LA came out strongly and jumped to a quick 7-2 lead. UC San Diego rebounded to take a 16-14 advantage, but the Golden Eagles used kills by Lofrano and Thurmond and a block by Thurmond to take a 19-17 lead. A kill by Gomez made it 23-19 and two kills by Lofrano eventually closed out the set.

UC San Diego, though, regained control in the fourth set, jumping out to a 15-6 lead and never looking back.

Cal State LA entered the tournament ranked No. 8 in the West Region. Eight teams from the West Region will qualify for the NCAA Championships. The tournament field will be announced on Monday.