ROHNERT PARK -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team came up short Thursday in a tight California Collegiate Athletic Association battle at Sonoma State.
The Golden Eagles won the opening set, but the Seawolves won the final three and took a 23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-23 victory in the Wolves Den. Cal State LA (16-8, 12-5 CCAA) fell out of a third-place tie in the conference, while Sonoma State (12-12, 9-7 CCAA) moved into fifth place. Both teams have qualified for the CCAA Tournament with one regular-season match remaining.
Emily Elliott had 18 kills, 11 digs and three service aces, while
Karla Santos had 13 kills and 12 digs.Â
Jeshmarie Suarez had 13 digs and became the program's all-time leader in that department with 1,613, surpassing April Reyes' record of 1,606.
Emily Eaton had 17 kills to lead Sonoma State.
Jaden Grove had 35 set assists, while
Victoria Duarte had five blocks for the Golden Eagles.
Sonoma State had a 53-44 advantage in kills and outhit Cal State LA, .236 to .197. Cal State LA had an 8-4 edge in blocks. The Golden Eagles had 10 aces and seven service errors, while the Seawolves had 12 aces and 11 errors.
The Golden Eagles broke open a tie in the first set with a 5-0 run courtesy of a kill by Duarte, an ace by Grova, kills by Elliott and Santos and another ace by Grova that made it 12-7. An ace by
Alejandra Negron gave the Golden Eagles a 20-13 lead. Cal State LA moved to set point at 24-16 and, after Sonoma State fought off three set points, a kill by Elliott ended the first set.
Cal State LA led as late as 22-21 in the second set after a Santos kill, but the Seawolves won the next three points to get to set point. Elliott delivered a kill to make it 24-23, but the Seawolves won the next point to even the match.
Cal State LA led 9-8 in the third set, but Sonoma State went on an 8-2 run and maintained its advantage the rest of the set.
Cal State LA trailed 22-16 in the fourth set before staging an impressive rally that threatened to extend the match. A service error, a kill by Elliott, a block by
Haley Roundtree and Negron and an error pulled the Golden Eagles to within 22-20. The Golden Eagles tied the set at 23-23 after a kill by Negron and an ace by Suarez, but the Seawolves rebounded to take the next two points and the match.
The Golden Eagles will conclude their regular season with a match at Humboldt State on Saturday.
