MOON TOWNSHIP, PA. -- Cal State LA's volleyball team staged a dramatic turnaround Thursday and recorded one of the biggest wins in program history.

The Golden Eagles, after a lopsided defeat in the third set, roared back with near-flawless execution over the final two frames to outlast Wayne State, 26-24, 21-25, 12-25, 25-15, 15-12 in the first of four national quarterfinal matches at the UPMC Events Center on the campus of Robert Morris University. Cal State LA (22-10), the No. 6 seed, had 25 kills over the final two sets, including 12 with a .435 hitting percentage in the final set to upend No. 3 Wayne State (31-3, 18-0), the champions of the Central Region.

Cal State LA advances to the Final Four for fourth time in program history and in back-to-back seasons for the first time.

The highly-competitive and entertaining quarterfinal match turned thanks to a remarkable 10-0 serving run by Iane Henke to open the fourth set. Cal State LA had big leads for the remainder of the set and rallied back from an early 4-1 deficit in the fifth during a 6-0 run due largely to Emily Elliott's five-point service run that included a pair of aces. The Golden Eagles then held their advantage the rest of the way.

Elliott continued her sensational play during the NCAA playoffs, matching her career high with 30 kills and fueling the fifth-set run that put the Golden Eagles ahead for good. Elliott hit at a .441 percentage and had two aces - both in the fifth set - and four blocks to account for 34 points. She also had 15 digs and helped Cal State LA's defense continue its postseason resurgence.

Iane Henke had 15 kills and 16 digs and helped swing the match in Cal State LA's favor with a 10-point serving run to open the fourth set. The sizzling start gave the Golden Eagles a quick 10-0 lead and provided confidence after the third-set score.

Ashley Dittmann also reached double figures in kills with 13 and also had 10 digs in an outstanding performance. She, too, was at her best over the final two sets.

Channatee Robles led Wayne State, which was ranked No. 3 in the country and spent much of the season at No. 1, with 20 kills, while Taya Beller had 16 kills and Maggie Brahmer had 13.

Eliza Cannon had 56 set assists and 12 digs for the Golden Eagles, while Jameson Sanders had 17 digs.

Cal State LA had a 66-65 advantage in kills, fueled by a 25-16 edge over the final two sets. The Golden Eagles hit at a .286 clip to .276 for Wayne State. Cal State LA also had an 8-7 advantage in blocks and had seven aces with 10 errors to six aces and six errors by the Wildcats. In the fifth set, Cal State LA had 12 kills and two aces to account for 14 off its 15 points. 

Cal State LA rallied nicely in a first-set comeback that loomed large.The Golden Eagles trailed 21-17 and 23-20, but evened the set after a service error and back-to-back kills by Henke. After Wayne State got to set point at 24-23, the Golden Eagles got a kill from Henke, an attack error and an ace by Zuhal Cetin to take the set.

Wayne State rebounded to take the second set, 25-21, and then was firing on all cylinders in the third set to take a 2-1 lead.

Henke then stunningly grabbed the momentum back for the Golden Eagles with her set-opening serving run that included a pair of aces and several other great serves that left Wayne State out of sorts. Staked to the big early 10-0 advantage, the Golden Eagles maintained a large lead and took the match to a fifth set.

In the final frame, Elliott had two service aces during a 6-0 run that gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good at 7-4. Wayne State remained within striking distance, though, and the end of the match was exciting. The Wildcats pulled within 11-10, but kills by Henke and Elliott stretched the lead back to 13-10. A kill by Elliott got the Golden Eagles to match point at 14-11 and another kill by Elliott ended the match.

Cal State LA will face No. 2 seed Missouri-St. Louis in the first of two semifinal matches on Friday at 2 p.m. PST.