SAN DIEGO -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team was clicking on all cylinders Saturday in its Seaside Invitational finale against tournament host Point Loma.
The Golden Eagles split the first two sets before pulling away for a 25-21, 17-25, 25-17, 25-11 victory over the Sea Lions. Cal State LA (2-2) opened the day with a disappointing 25-17, 25-19, 25-21 loss to No. 4 Alaska Anchorage in a morning match.
Karla Santos had 17 kills and hit at a .357 percentage in the win over Point Loma, while
Alejandra Negron had 13 kills, 10 digs and four aces.
Kelsey Molnar had an outstanding all-around match with 45 set assists, six digs, three blocks and four aces.
Cal State LA had a 57-32 edge in kills and hit at a .276 percentage to .143 for Point Loma.
Jeshmarie Suarez had 11 digs and three assists,
Sifa Faaiu had 10 kills,
Daisia LaBrie had seven kills and two blocks and
Daisy Crenshaw had six kills and five blocks.
The Golden Eagles took the opening game after holding off a late Point Loma rally. A kill by Negron, a block by Crenshaw and Faaiu, a block by Crenshaw and Negron and a kill by Faiiu opened up an 18-10 lead. After Point Loma closed to within 24-21, Santos delivered a kill to end the set.
After Point Loma rallied to take the second set and even the match, Cal State LA turned up the heat in the remaining two sets. A kill by Santos gave the Golden Eagles a 15-7 lead and a kill by Faaiu made it 18-9. A Negron kill got the Golden Eagles to set point at 24-17 and a kill by Negron ended the set.
Cal State LA opened up a quick 17-8 lead in the fourth set following a kill by LaBrie. The lead was still 19-11 when the Golden Eagles scored the final six points to end the match. Kills by Santos and Crenshaw started the game-ending run and an ace by Santos made it 22-11. A kill by Faaiu made it 23-11, an attack error made it 24-11 and a kill by Crenshaw ended the match.
Faaiu had 10 kills in the early match against Alaska Anchorage, which was the national runner-up last year. LaBrie and Santos had seven kills each, while Suarez had a team-high 12 digs.
Bailey Anderson had a strong performance with 25 set assists, three digs, one block and one kill.
Cal State LA will return to action on Thursday with a match at Northwest Nazarene at the D2 West Region Showcase.
