SAN BERNARDINO -- Cal State LA's Emily Elliott has started the 2024 season a lot like she ended the 2023 national championship campaign.

Elliott set a new California Collegiate Athletic Association record for kills in the current scoring format with an amazing 35 to lead the No. 1 Golden Eagles past No. 19 Seattle Pacific Friday afternoon in a five-set marathon to open the day at the Yotes Classic Showcase. Fittingly, Elliott had the final two points via kills to break a 13-13 tie in the fifth set.

The Golden Eagles (2-1) then dropped their first match of the season in their second contest of the day, falling to No. 12 Chaminade in three sets.

Elliott, a first-team All-American, had 15 kills against Chaminade, giving her 50 in eight sets for the day. She already has a total of 67 kills and 76.5 points in Cal State LA's first three matches.

The Golden Eagles got their day started with an exhausting 25-23, 18-25, 25-19, 25-27, 15-13 win over Seattle Pacific, the team Cal State LA beat in four sets in last year's NCAA West Regional first-round. Cal State LA had a 12-7 lead in the fourth set, only to see the Falcons rally to force a fifth and deciding set. The Golden Eagles trailed 13-12, but a kill by Haley Roundtree and back-to-back kills by Elliott lifted them to the important win.

Elliott also had back-to-back kills to break a 23-23 tie in the opening set to get the Golden Eagles off to a promising start.

Elliott's 35 kills eclipsed the previous record of 34 set by San Francisco State's Tamiya Wilson in 2023. The current 25-point scoring system started in 2008.

The only Cal State LA player with more kills in a match is Andrea Ferchaw, who had 44 in 1995 when teams could only score on their own serve. 

Elliott's kills were accomplished with a .338 hitting percentage. She also had one ace, two blocks and four digs.

Zuhal Cetin had 11 kills and 13 digs for the Golden Eagles, while Roundtree had seven kills and four blocks.

Sydney Perry had 12 kills for the Falcons.

Jameson Sanders had a team-high 19 digs for the Golden Eagles along with one ace. Ashlyn Beaver had 28 set assists, including the final three points of the match, and Martinaya Dornic had 14.

The Golden Eagles then fell short against Chaminade, the team they had eliminated from the past two NCAA West Regionals, 25-22, 25-16, 25-19, in their second match of the day. The Golden Eagles raced out to a 14-10 in the opening set, but surrendered the lead after a 6-0 run by Chaminade and never could get untracked.

Elliott had 15 kills and seven digs, while Cetin had 10 kills and seven digs. Arielle Chandler had a team-high 16 set assists in two sets.

Cal State LA will complete play in the tournament on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against No. 10 St. Cloud State.