HONOLULU, HAWAII -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team earned mixed results Thursday in a pair of five-set matches to open the 2025 season in the Hawaii Challenge.

The Golden Eagles played both tournament co-hosts on their respective home courts, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to beat No. 9 Chaminade in the opener and then falling in five sets at Hawaii Pacific in match that lasted well into the evening. Cal State LA (1-1) will play single matches on Friday and Saturday to end its Hawaiian trip.

Cal State LA staged an amazing rally to upend Chaminade in the opener. The Golden Eagles dropped the first two sets and were down 19-13 in the third set before storming back for a 12-25, 19-25, 25-22, 27-25, 15-10 victory. Cal State LA fought off a set point in the fourth set and then won the final four points of the match to take the fifth set.

Against Hawaii Pacific later in the day in the Shark Tank, the Golden Eagles fought off three set points to force a fifth set, but fell in the fifth, 16-14. Hawaii Pacific prevailed, 25-20, 22-25, 25-17, 25-27, 16-14. 

Ayjah Landers, seeing her first on-court action since earning All-California Collegiate Athletic Association honorable mention in 2022, had a career-high 28 kills, three aces and five blocks for a career-high 33.5 points. Samarah DaCoud had 12 kills and three aces.

Arielle Chandler had 39 set assists, a team-high 16 digs and Brooke Paige had 15 digs, six set assists and two aces.

Cal State LA had 61-56 edge in kills and had a 12-7 edge in service aces, but the Sharks had an 18-78 advantage in blocks and hit at a .227 to the Golden Eagles' .135.

The Golden Eagles trailed 23-19 in the fourth set, but closed to within 23-22 after a kill by DaCoud and, facing match point at 24-22, the Golden Eagles got a kill by Landers and a block by Landers and Naomi Jackson to tie it at 24-24. Cal State LA faced a third match point at 25-24, but got a kill by Zuhal Cetin, a kill by Landers and a block by Cetin and Madison Clark to force a fifth set.

Cal State LA held a 9-8 lead in the fifth set, but Hawaii Pacific scored four straight points to take a 12-9 lead. Cal State LA countered with a kill by Landers and back-to-back aces from Jameson Sanders to tie it. Cal State LA got a kill from Clark to stave off one match point at 14-13, but the Sharks won the final two points to take the match.

In the opener, DaCoud had a team-high 19 kills, three aces and 11 digs, while Landers had 13 kills and four blocks. Chandler had 32 set assists.

Chaminade had a 58-49 edge in kills and hit .193 to .136 for the Golden Eagles. Cal State LA had an 8-7 edge in blocks and had six aces to four for Chaminade.

The Golden Eagles appeared to be headed for an early defeat after dropping the first two sets and trailing 19-13 in the third. Cal State LA chipped away and took its first lead at 22-21. After Chaminade tied it at 22-22, Cal State LA got a kill from Landers, an attack error and an ace by DaCoud to send the match to a fourth set.

Cal State LA faced a match point at 25-24, but back-to-back kills from Landers and an attack error sent the match to a fifth set. The Golden Eagles took control late and won the match by winning the final four points on a kill by Anaiya Cooper, an ace by Landers, a kill by Rebecca Topete and a kill by Mariana Alvarado.

Cal State LA will return to action on Friday with a match against St. Mary's at Chaminade at 7 p.m. PST.