SAN BERNARDINO -- Cal State LA's volleyball team has moved one step closer to a successful NCAA West Regional title defense.

The No. 4 seed Golden Eagles, the defending regional champions, upended No. 1 seed Chaminade, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19 Friday night in Cal State San Bernardino's Coussoulis Arena in the first of two regional semifinals. Cal State LA (20-10) has reached the tournament final for a third straight season and is looking to retain its title after capturing its first regional title since 2005 last year. The Golden Eagles will face host Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the regional title.

The Golden Eagles beat top-seeded Chaminade (30-4) in the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season. Last season, Cal State LA, as a No. 3 seed, beat Chaminade, the No. 8 seed, in three sets in Washington.

The Golden Eagles started slowly and trailed by as many as five points in the opening set before hitting their stride. Cal State LA closed out the first set thanks to an ace from Jameson Sanders and then pulled away to win the second set as well, that one also ending on an ace by Sanders. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 16-9 lead in the third set to close it out.

Emily Elliott had 12 kills to lead a balanced Cal State LA attack, while Iane Henke had nine kills, three aces and a team-high 14 digs.

Sophie Schilling had eight kills to lead Chaminade.

Ashley Dittmann had six kills and four digs for the Golden Eagles, while Eliza Cannon had three kills, 19 set assists and eight digs. Sanders had a team-high four aces.

Cal State LA had a 33-32 edge in kills and a 9-5 edge in aces. The Golden Eagles also had 10 fewer hitting errors and hit at a .204 clip to just .078 for the Silverswords.

The Golden Eagles had some troubles at the start and trailed 11-6 and 15-10 before turning things around. A strong serving run by Sanders fueled a 5-0 run that tied it and the Golden Eagles erased a 19-17 deficit with back-to-back kills from Henke and an attack error to take the lead. Chaminade pulled into a 23-23 tie, but a kill by Elliott and another ace by Sanders gave the Golden Eagles the opening set.

Chaminade scored the first three points of the second set and led as late as 15-14. Cal State LA broke a 16-16 after an attack error, a kill by Elliott and a block by Haley Roundtree and Elliott. After Chaminade closed to within 19-17, the Golden Eagles took command after two kills by Henke and an ace by Elliott made it 22-17. An attack error, a kill by Dittmann and an ace by Sanders accounted for the final three points of the set.

Cal State LA took a quick 11-6 lead in the final set after a pair of hitting errors and a pair of Cannon kills and the Golden Eagles kept a safe lead down the stretch.