LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team finished play in the D2 West Region Showcase with its third sweep in four matches.
The Golden Eagles were on fire out of the gate and roared past Hawaii Pacific, 25-14, 25-18, 25-21 on Saturday in University Gym to complete the tourney with a 3-1 record. Azusa Pacific and Central Washington were also 3-1 in an entertaining tourney.
Karla Santos led the way for the Golden Eagles with 12 kills, four service aces and eight digs, while
Alejandra Negron had eight kills and three service aces.
Julia Azevedo and
Daisy Crenshaw had six kills each. Crenshaw, who leads the California Collegiate Athletic Association in blocks, had a team-high six more on Saturday.
Cameryn Collie had nine kills for the Sharks.
No. 23 Cal State LA (4-4) had a 36-27 edge in kills and hit at a .250 percentage to .063 for the Sharks. Cal State LA had a big 10-3 edge in blocks and had nine service aces to 10 errors.Â
Jeshmarie Suarez had 15 digs, while
Laisa Maeda and
Shea McGovern had 15 set assists each.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the opening set and never looked back. Cal State LA extended the lead to 18-7 on a kill by Azevedo off a set by Crenshaw and took a 20-9 lead off a kill by Santos with an assist from Negron. Back-to-back aces by Santos got the Golden Eagles to set point and a block by
Victoria Duarte and Negron ended the set.
Cal State LA allowed the first three points of the second set, but took an 8-5 lead following a block by Duarte and
Mickayla Sherman and extended the lead to 16-10 after a bad set. A service ace by McGovern made it 20-14 and the Golden Eagles closed out the set on a kill by Duarte.
Cal State LA never trailed in the final set although the Sharks remained within striking distance. A kill by Santos gave the Golden Eagles a 23-19 lead, a kill by Santos got the Golden Eagles to match point and an attack error ended it.
Four players from the Cal State LA bracket in the West Region Showcase were named to the All-Tournament Team. Santos and Suarez from Cal State LA were joined by Azusa Pacific's Bailey Henington and Central Washington's Kyla Morgan.
Cal State LA will open CCAA play next Saturday with a home match against Cal State Dominguez Hills at 5 p.m.
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