TARLETON -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team had some outstanding moments, but the Golden Eagles came up just short in a thrilling match against No. 10 Tarleton State early Friday and then fell in a four-set match to No. 14 Rockhurst later in the day.
The No. 19 Golden Eagles stormed back from a two-set deficit and built a 10-7 lead in the fifth and deciding set, only to see host Tarleton State recover for a 25-21, 25-21, 15-25, 10-25, 15-12 victory in Cal State LA's first of two matches on Friday. The Golden Eagles didn't quite have the same energy in a later match and fell in a four-set decision to No. 14 Rockhurst, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22.
Alejandra Negron had a career-high 19 kills to lead the Golden Eagles in their amazing comeback in the opening contest. She hit at a .607 clip.
Karla Santos also had an outstanding match with 18 kills and 11 digs.
Julia Azevedo had 12 kills and 10 digs.
Daisy Crenshaw led the team with five blocks.
Jeshmarie Suarez had 15 digs and three aces, while
Laisa Maeda had a match-high 49 set assists.
Cal State LA had a 60-39 edge in kills, fueled in large part by the dominant stretches of the third and fourth sets. The Golden Eagles outhit Tarleton State, .219 - .140. Cal State LA had six service aces and 14 errors, while Tarleton State had 4 aces and nine errors. Tarleton State had an 8-7 edge in blocks.
The Golden Eagles dropped close 25-21 decisions in each of the first two sets, but really started clicking over the next two sets to climb back into the contest. Leading 16-14 midway through the third set, a kill by Negron, an attack error, a bad set, a kill by Santos, a kill by
Shelby Grubbs and an ace by Negron boosted the lead to 22-14. Back-to-back kills by Santos and an ace by Suarez ended the set.
Cal State LA was even more impressive in the fourth set. The Golden Eagles got out to a 14-6 lead behind a strong serving run by
Tori Galloway and took a 20-8 lead after an ace by Suarez. Another strong serving run by
Shea McGovern helped Cal State LA close out the set.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 10-7 lead in the fifth set after an ace by Negron, but Tarleton State won the next four points. After a kill by Santos tied it a final time at 11-11, Tarleton State scored the next two points and never looked back.
Cal State LA tried to bounce back in a second match on Friday, but fell to Rockhurst. Negron again led the way with 18 kills and 19 digs, while Azevedo had 13 kills and seven digs.
Mickayla Sherman had 11 kills and hit at a .400 percentage, while Crenshaw had eight kills and five blocks.
Shea McGovern had 28 set assists, while Maeda had 20. Suarez had a team-high 20 digs, while Santos had 19 digs and three kills.
Cal State LA had a 58-52 advantage in kills and hit at a .199 clip to .220 for Rockhurst.
Cal State LA had an 11-7 lead in the opening set, only to see Rockhurst run off a 10-0 run to take command.
The Golden Eagles bounced back nicely in the second set. A Santos kill gave the Golden Eagles a 9-4 lead and a kill by Sherman opened the lead up to 18-10. Cal State LA had a 20-11 lead, but then had to hold off a determined Rockhurst rally. After seeing the lead cut to 23-21, a kill by Azevedo and an ace by Negron evened the match.
The Golden Eagles led early, 6-3, in the third set after a kill by Sherman, but Rockhurst scored the next four points and never looked back.
Cal State LA appeared to have a good shot at sending the match to a fifth set after taking a 21-17 lead following a solo block by Crenshaw. A kill by Negron made it 22-20, but Rockhurst scored the final five points to close out the match.
Cal State LA will return to action on Saturday with a match against West Alabama at 7 a.m. PST.
