SAN BERNARDINO -- Cal State LA opened its 2026 season with a hard-fought five-set loss to Saint Martin's on Thursday at Coussoulis Arena. The Golden Eagles claimed the opening and fourth sets before the Saints prevailed, 18-25, 25-23, 28-26, 22-25, 15-10.
Cal State LA started quickly, posting a .273 hitting percentage en route to a 25-18 victory in the opening set. Saint Martin's responded by taking a tightly contested second set, 25-23, before edging the Golden Eagles in an extended third set, 28-26.
Facing a 2-1 deficit, Cal State LA delivered its strongest offensive performance of the match in the fourth set. The Golden Eagles recorded 16 kills and hit .353 to earn a 25-22 victory and force a deciding fifth set. Saint Martin's ultimately secured the match by taking the final frame, 15-10.
Samarah DaCoud led the Golden Eagles with 19 kills, 11 digs and a .250 hitting percentage to record a double-double.
Oluwatoyin Sunday added 17 kills while hitting .275, and
Amber Walker contributed 11 kills and nine digs.
Ruby Ennis directed the Cal State LA offense with 32 assists, while
Seriah Demski and
McKinley Chase added 12 and eight assists, respectively.
Juliana Speiski anchored the back row with a match-high 20 digs.
Havannah Vogel led the Golden Eagles at the net with six total blocks, including one solo block, while
Isabella Barrios added five block assists. Cal State LA finished with advantages in kills (61-47), hitting percentage (.182-.100), digs (75-64) and total blocks (11-8), but 16 service errors helped Saint Martin's escape with the five-set victory.
The loss moved Cal State LA to 0-1 on the season, while Saint Martin's improved to 1-1. The Golden Eagles will continue play in the Yotes Classic tomorrow against Concordia-Irvine at 5 p.m. You can watch all the action live on Flo College.
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