SAN BERNARDINO – Cal State LA's women's volleyball team came up just short in a hard-fought five-set California Collegiate Athletic Association loss to Cal State San Bernardino.
 
The Golden Eagles were able to force a fifth and deciding set, only to see the Coyotes prevail, 25-23, 25-27, 25-17, 20-25, 17-15 in Coussoulis Arena. Cal State LA (13-7, 9-3 CCAA) slipped out of first place in the CCAA South Division behind Cal State San Bernardino (14-4, 8-2 CCAA).
 
JamieAnn Bero had 18 kills and eight blocks for the Golden Eagles, while Alma Serna had 14 kills and eight blocks. Taylor Kushner had 15 kills and 19 digs, while Lauren Gomez had 15 kills and 13 digs.,
 
Malika O'Brien had 23 kills and four blocks for the Coyotes, while Lauren Nicholson had 17 kills and 17 digs. Moira Murphy had 10 kills and four blocks.
 
Kelsey Molnar had 51 set assists and 11 digs, while Chloe Clancy had a match-high 24 digs.
 
The stats were nearly identical for the two teams. Both teams had 66 kills, while Cal State San Bernardino had a slight hitting edge, .173 to .162. Cal State San Bernardino had a 17-16 edge in blocks. Cal State LA had six service aces and seven errors, while Cal State San Bernardino had five aces and five errors.
 
Cal State LA trailed for much of the opening set, only to take a 21-19 lead after kills by Serna and Gomez. The Coyotes, though, scored the next four points to take the lead for good. Cal State LA pulled to within 24-23 after a kill by Serna, but the Coyotes got a block by O'Brian to end the set.
 
Cal State LA had to fight off two set points in the second set, the first with a kill by Sifa Faaiu at 24-23 and the other on a service error at 25-24. Bero then served an ace to give the Golden Eagles a 26-25 lead and a kill by Serna evened the match.
 
The Golden Eagles, though, were unable to carry the momentum into the third set and Cal State San Bernardino opened up a quick 11-4 lead. Cal State LA got kills by Kushner and Gomez and an attack error to pull to within 15-14, a block by Kushner and Bero kept the Golden Eagles within 16-15 and a block by Serna made it 17-16. Cal State San Bernardino, though, scored the next five points as part of a set-closing 8-1 run.
 
Cal State LA, though, bounced back in the fourth set. The set was tied at 15-15 before a kill by Bero and two kills by Gomez gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good. A block by Molnar and Serna got the Golden Eagles to set point at 24-18 and an attack error ultimately sent the match to a fifth set.
 
Cal State LA fell behind 5-2 early, but opened up a 9-7 lead following a block by Serna. Cal State San Bernardino responded by scoring the next four points before a kill by Serna and a block by Bero and Faaiu tied it at 11-11. The Golden Eagles took their final lead at 12-11 after a block by Molnar and Bero. The match was tied at 13-13 after a block by Faaiu and Bero and again at 14-14 after an attack error for a final time at 15-15 after a kill by Bero. Cal State San Bernardino then got kills by Jackson and O'Brien to win the contest.
 
Cal State LA will return to action on Saturday with a road match at Cal Poly Pomona.