TURLOCK -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team put the finishing touches on a championship California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season with a three-set win at Stanislaus State on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles, who had already wrapped up its first CCAA championship since 2005, swept the Warriors, 25-18, 25-23, 25-19 in Fitzpatrick Arena. Cal State LA (21-5, 16-2 CCAA), ranked No. 19 in the nation and No. 3 in the NCAA Division II West Region, won for the 19th time in the last 21 matches.
The Golden Eagles' 16-2 conference record matches the 2005 team for the second-best in program history. The 2000 team, the last one to win a solo conference championship before this year's squad, went 22-0 in conference 22 years ago.
Cal State LA earns the No. 1 seed for next week's CCAA Tournament and receives a first-round bye. The Golden Eagles will play in a semifinal match on Friday, Nov. 11, at San Marcos in search of the program's first-ever tournament title.
The Golden Eagles started quickly and never let up against Stanislaus State on Saturday.
Emily Elliott led the way with 16 kills and a hitting percentage of .500.
Iane Henke had 13 kills, three service aces and seven digs and
Ashley Dittmann had seven kills and five digs.
Cassie Corbett and Faith Menary had eight kills each for Stanislaus State (19-9, 10-8 CCAA).
Haley Roundtree had five kills in eight swings and two blocks, while
Jaden Grova had 21 set assists and a team-high 10 digs for the Golden Eagles.
Cal State LA jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead in the opening set, only to see the Warriors fight back to make it 11-10. The Golden Eagles regained control with a 5-0 run behind kills by Elliott and
Ayjah Landers, an ace by Henke and a pair of Stanislaus State errors.
Cal State LA had its lead sliced to 19-16, but kills by Landers, Dittmann and Henke pushed the lead back to 22-16. The Golden Eagles got to set point after kills by Henke and
Allison Linder and closed out the set on a kill by Henke.
Stanislaus State led for most of the second set and held a 19-14 edge before Cal State LA scored nine straight points to take a 23-19 lead. A kill by Henke, an attack error, kills by Roundtree and Henke, a bad set, a kill by Elliott, a kill by Henke, an attack error and another kill by Henke gave the Golden Eagles the four-point lead.
The Warriors tied it at 23-23, but kills by Elliott and Roundtree gave the Golden Eagles the set.
Cal State LA took a quick 4-0 lead in the third set and never trailed. An ace by
Zuhal Cetin pushed the lead to 19-12, a kill and block by Henke made it 21-14 and a kill by Roundtree gave the Golden Eagles a 22-15 lead. After the Golden Eagles took a 23-16 lead after an error, kills by Cetin accounted for the Golden Eagles' final two points.
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