SAN BERNARDINO -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team was able to put the finishing touches on a long Friday with an important NCAA West Region victory over perennial power Western Washington.

The No. 9 seed Golden Eagles, the defending West Region and California Collegiate Athletic Association champions, opened their second day of competition in Yotes Classic Showcase with a hard-fought four-set loss to No. 3 MSU Denver and concluded it with a snappy three-set win over No. 15 Western Washington.

The Golden Eagles (1-2) snapped a five-match losing streak to the Vikings dating back to 2006 with a 25-17, 25-15, 25-18 victory in The Den shortly after a 21-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-15 loss to MSU Denver.

Ashley Dittmann had 15 kills and a sizzling hitting percentage of .591 to lead three Golden Eagles in double figures. Iane Henke had 10 kills, seven digs and a service ace to go along with a .368 hitting percentage, while Emily Elliott had 10 kills, three aces and four digs.

Jaden Grova had 17 set assists, one ace and seven digs, while Eliza Cannon had 13 set assists and one kill. 

Cal State LA had a 42-19 advantage in kills and hit at a .316 hitting percentage to just .106 for the Vikings. The Golden Eagles had nine service aces and 12 errors, while the Vikings (0-3) had two aces and nine error. 

Cal State LA trailed early in the opening set before taking the lead for good after two kills by Henke and a block by Henke gave the Golden Eagles an 11-8 lead. Another four-point run gave the Golden Eagles a 15-9 after kills by Haley Roundtree and Dittmann and they extended the lead to 21-14 after a kill by Elliott. Cal State LA took a 24-15 lead after an ace by Grova and ended the set on a kill by Elliott.

Cal State LA trailed 4-0 in the second set, but quickly rebounded to take a 7-5 edge and led the rest of the way. The Golden Eagles closed out the frame with four straight points, the final point coming on a kill by Roundtree.

Cal State LA and Western Washington were tied at 10-10 before a pair of kills by Elliott, an attack error and an ace by Henke gave the Golden Eagles a 14-10 advantage. Western Washington got as close as 15-14, but a service error and back-to-back kills by Dittmann boosted the lead to 18-14. Cal State LA got to match point after three strong serving points from Matalasi Danielson pushed the advantage to 24-16 and ended the contest on a kill by Henke.

In the opening match, Cal State LA started well, but couldn't sustain its momentum against No. 3 MSU Denver and fell in four sets. Elliott had 11 kills and four aces, while Henke had 10 kills and four aces. Jameson Sanders had a team-high 11 digs, while Ashley Dittmann had five kills and 10 digs.

MSU Denver had a 49-38 edge in kills and hit at a .260 percentage while limiting the Golden Eagles to a .104 percentage. Each team had 10 service aces, while MSU Denver had a slim 8-7 edge in blocks.

Cal State LA enjoyed its best run of the match in the opening set, erasing an 11-10 deficit with an 8-0 run. A kill by Henke, a block by Henke, kills by Henke and Grova, a block by Henke and Roundtree, a kill by Roundtree, an attack error and a kill by Elliott gave the Golden Eagles an 18-11 advantage.

MSU Denver sliced the deficit to 20-17, but the Golden Eagles got a kill by Elliott and two attack errors to push the lead to 23-17. A kill by Zuhal Cetin got the Golden Eagles to set point at 24-19 and the Golden Eagles closed out the set on a bad set.

After dropping the second set, the Golden Eagles got a kill by Dittmann and four straight aces from Elliott to open up a 9-3 lead in the third set and led as late as 18-17 after a kill by Dittmann, but MSU Denver scored five straight points to take control. Cal State LA got back-to-back kills from Henke to close to within 22-20, but MSU Denver scored the final three points to take a 2-1 sets lead.

Cal State LA got a pair of aces from Henke to open up a 3-0 lead in the fourth set and led as late as 14-13 after an ace by Henke, but MSU Denver scored the next 11 points to take over the contest.

Cal State LA will complete play in the tournament with a match against Great Northwest Athletic Conference favorite Central Washington on Saturday at noon.