ARCATA -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team found itself on the wrong side of a tight five-set California Collegiate Athletic Association battle on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Eagles, after dropping the opening set, regrouped to take the middle two sets before host Cal Poly Humboldt fought back to take a 25-20, 20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12 decision in Lumberjack Arena. No. 14 Cal State LA (6-3, 1-1 CCAA), the two-time defending conference champion, was forced to settle for a split of its opening week of CCAA play.

Emily Elliott had 24 kills, three aces and 14 digs and had a match-high 27 points for Cal State LA. Elliott posted her third double-double of the season.

Samarah DaCoud had 15 kills for the Golden Eagles, while Haley Roundtree had eight kills and five blocks.

Awelina Fakalata had a team-high 18 kills for Cal Poly Humboldt (5-5, 1-1 CCAA), who also opened the conference schedule with a weekend split after snapping an 11-match losing streak to the Golden Eagles dating back to 2015.

Juliana Speiski had a match-high 22 digs for the Golden Eagles, while Arielle Chandler had 25 set assists. Brooke Paige had a team-high four service aces, while Rachel Lowe had three aces.

Cal State LA had a slim 59-54 edge in kills and outhit the 'Jacks, .228-.189. Cal Poly Humboldt had a 10-5 advantage in blocks. Cal State LA had 13 aces and 15 serving errors, while Cal Poly Humboldt had a strong match from the service line with 16 aces and eight errors. 

The Golden Eagles led 15-12 in the opening set, but the 'Jacks went on a 6-0 run to grab the lead and didn't relinquish it. A kill by Zuhal Cetin pulled the Golden Eagles to within 20-18 and a kill by Elliott made it 21-19, but Cal Poly Humboldt scored four of the next five points to close out the set.

Cal State LA erased a 9-8 deficit in the second set thanks to a kill by Tehya Chadwick, an attack error, and an ace by Zehal. A kill by DaCoud stretched the lead to 23-17, and, after Cal Poly Humboldt closed to within 23-20, an attack error and a kill by DaCoud gave the Golden Eagles the set and evened the match.

Cal State LA faced a 22-20 deficit in the third set, but got a kill by Elliott and then four straight points on Elliott's serve on an attack error, a ball-handling error, an ace by Elliott, and a kill by Elliott to take a 2-1 lead.

The Golden Eagles fell into a 13-7 hole in the fourth set, but went on an 8-0 run highlighted by an ace by Paige to take a 15-13 lead. Cal State LA held a 19-17 lead, but the 'Jacks went on a 4-0 run before kills by Cetin and DaCoud tied it at 21-21. The 'Jacks scored the next two points to take a 23-21 lead before two straight kills by DaCoud tied it. Cal Poly Humboldt, though, scored the final two points to send the match to a deciding fifth set.

A kill by DaCoud gave the Golden Eagles a 5-3 lead early in the fifth set, but the 'Jacks scored seven straight points to take the lead for good. The Golden Eagles pulled to within 10-9 after a kill by Elliott, but the 'Jacks scored the next three points to close in on the win. The Golden Eagles got to within 14-12, but a kill by Fakalata ended the match.

Cal State LA will finally play its first home contest of the season next Friday against Cal State San Marcos at 5 p.m. with the Golden Eagles' 2023 national championship banner being unveiled before the match.