BELLINGHAM, WA -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team opened the 2022 season with a five-set win over a nationally-ranked team.

The Golden Eagles went the distance and prevailed over No. 20 Ferris State, 25-23, 27-29, 25-22, 21-25, 15-5 in an opening day match at the Western Washington Invitational in Carver Gym. Cal State LA (1-0) received votes in the preseason poll from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Ayjah Landers had a career-high 20 kills to lead three Golden Eagles in double figures. Emily Elliott, the 2021 California Collegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year, started her sophomore season off well with 18 kills, three aces, three blocks and a team-high 24.5 points. Iane Henke had 14 kills and a team-high 21 digs.

Eliza Cannon had 49 set assists and 10 digs, while Shelby Grubbs had five kills and a team-high six blocks.

Cal State LA had a 65-50 advantage in kills and a 13-8 edge in blocks. The Golden Eagles hit at a .319 percentage to .227 for Ferris State. The Golden Eagles had a 13-8 edge in blocks and a 51-45 edge in digs. Cal State LA had 12 service aces, including a match-high five from Henke, while Ferris State had 15 aces. Claire Nowicki had 13 kills to lead Ferris State, while Olivia Henneman-Dallape had 12 kills.

Jameson Sanders had 11 digs and two service aces for the Golden Eagles.

The first four sets were extremely competitive and set up a decisive fifth set that saw the Golden Eagles take command early.

Cal State LA rallied impressively from deficits of 18-14, 22-17 and 23-19 in the opening set. After trailing 23-19, the Golden Eagles got a kill from Zuhal Cetin, a ball-handling error by Ferris State, a kill by Elliott and a service ace by Henke to tie it. A kill by Landers and another ace by Henke gave the Golden Eagles the opening set.

Cal State LA had three sets points in the second frame, but couldn't convert. the Golden Eagles held their first set point at 24-23, but Ferris State scored two points in a row to take a 25-24 advantage. A kill by Landers and a block by Grubbs and Elliott made it 26-25, but Ferris State tied it. Cal State LA took a 27-26 lead after a service error, but dropped the next three points to even the match.

Cal State LA took a 2-1 lead after a hard-fought third set. The frame was tied at 20-20 before the Golden Eagles got a kill from Henke, a block from Haley Roundtree and Landers and an ace by Henke to take control. Cal State LA got to set point after a kill by Elliott and closed out the set with a kill by Landers.

After dropping the fourth set, Cal State LA stepped up in the fifth. Cal State LA scored the first seven points behind the serving of Henke, who had two aces during the run. The Golden Eagles built a 12-1 lead after a serving run from Sanders and, after Ferris State got to within 13-5, closed out the match with kills from Landers and Henke.

Cal State LA will return to action on Friday morning with a match against Regis at 9:30 a.m.