CARSON -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team survived a major upset bid from Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday and took over first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association in the process.

The Golden Eagles escaped the Torodome with a hard-fought 21-25, 26-24, 27-25, 25-22 victory and assumed sole possession of the CCAA lead after Cal State San Bernardino completed a weekend sweep of Cal Poly Pomona. Cal State LA (14-4, 9-1 CCAA) now leads the conference by one game over the Yotes and Broncos. Saturday's match marked the beginning of the second half of conference play. The Golden Eagles won their fourth straight match and have now won 12 of their last 13.

Cal State LA found itself with a huge battle on its hands from Cal State Dominguez Hills (3-14, 1-9 CCAA), which battled the Golden Eagles on even terms throughout the match. After dropping the first set, the Golden Eagles found themselves down 14-8 in the second set and needed three set points to even the match. The Golden Eagles then had to fight off two set points in the third frame before emerging with the set and then broke a 20-20 tie in the fourth frame before finally closing out the match.

Emily Elliott had 16 kills and 15 digs for the Golden Eagles, while Iane Henke had 16 kills, three aces and 13 digs. Ashley Dittmann had 14 kills, including eight in the fourth set.

Ava Hurry had 12 kills for the Toros, while Samaya Royal and Camilia Sanchez-Tellez had 10 kills each.

Jaden Grova had 33 set assists for the Golden Eagles, while Jameson Sanders had 14 digs and an ace.Haley Roundtree had six kills and a team-high five blocks.

Cal State LA had a slim 58-54 advantage in kills and outhit the Toros, .230 - .191. The Golden Eagles had a 9-8 advantage in blocks. The Toros had 11 service aces and nine errors, while the Golden Eagles had six aces and seven errors.

The Toros let the Golden Eagles know immediately it was going to be a tough battle, taking the opening set 25-21 and opening up a 14-8 advantage in the second. Cal State LA scored six straight points to tie after a  kill by Roundtree, a block by Henke and Roundtree and two kills each from Elliott and Henke, the final five points coming on serves by Grova. The Golden Eagles, though, were never able to break free from the constant Toro pressure and Cal State Dominguez Hills took a 21-20 lead before a service error, an ace from Dittmann and a kill from Shelby Grubbs put the Golden Eagles ahead, 23-21. Cal State LA got to set point at 24-22 after a kill by Henke, but the Toros scored the next two points to tie it. A service error and a kill by Elliott enabled the Golden Eagles to take the set.

Cal State LA scored the first four points of the third set, but, again, the Toros fought right back and eventually took a 23-21 lead. A block by Henke and Grubbs and a block by Elliott and Grubbs tied it at 23-23, but a kill by Sanchez-Telles gave the Toros their first set point at 24-23. An Elliott kill saved that one and, after the Toros took a 25-24 lead, a kill by Dittmann, a block by Elliott and Roundtree and a kill by Dittmann gave the Golden Eagles the set.

The fourth set was more of the same and, once again, came down to the wire. Cal State LA broke a 20-20 tie with a kill by Dittmann, an attack error and another kill by Dittmann to take a 23-20 lead, only to see the Toros win the next two points to close to within 23-22. Cal State LA, though, got kills from Dittmann and Roundtree to finally end the contest.

Cal State LA will return to action on Friday with a home match against Cal Poly Humboldt at 5 p.m.