SAN BERNARDINO -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team put a scare once again into the defending champs on Friday, but Cal State San Bernardino was undeterred.

After the Golden Eagles staged a miraculous rally to win the second set and even the match, the Coyotes regrouped and won the final two in a 25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 25-18 in a semifinal match of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament in Coussoulis Arena. Cal State LA (18-9) split the first two sets with Cal State San Bernardino (24-3) for the third time this season, but each time the Coyotes regrouped to take the final two sets in four-set decisions.

The Golden Eagles were making their fourth straight appearance in the semifinals and for the third time in those four years they were eliminated by the Coyotes. In 2019, the Golden Eagles fell short in a thrilling five-set match in the championship match.

Alejandra Negron had a team-high 13 kills on Friday and had 11 digs for a double-double, while Karla Santos had 11 kills and 11 digs. Eliza Cannon had eight kills and 19 set assists and Emily Elliott had eight kills.

Alexis Cardoza had 18 kills to lead Cal State San Bernardino, while Jalyn Hayes and Jenna Patton had 10 kills each.

Jaden Grova had 17 set assists and two service aces during a strong serving run that brought the Golden Eagles back during the amazing second-set rally.

Cal State San Bernardino had a 56-45 edge in kills and outhit the Golden Eagles, .257 to .142. The Coyotes also had a 13-9 edge in blocks. Cal State LA had four aces and six serving errors, while the Coyotes had eight aces and 12 serving errors.

After dropping the first set, Cal State LA stared down a 24-19 deficit in the second frame. Cal State LA, though, scored six straight points on a kill by Elliott, a pair of aces by Grova, a block by Negron, a bad set and a Cannon kill. After the Coyotes fought off a set point, kills by Negron and Santos evened the match.

Cal State LA, though, simply couldn't capitalize on its momentum. Cal State San Bernardino scored four straight points to break a 4-4 tie in the third set and led the rest of the way. After a kill by Negron gave the Golden Eagles a 4-3 lead in the fourth set, the Coyotes scored five straight points to take the lead for good.

Cal State LA will now await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field, which will be revealed on Monday at 4:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles, seeking their third straight NCAA playoff appearance, were ranked seventh in Wednesday's poll. The top eight teams will represent the West Region.