POMONA — Cal State LA battled back from an opening-set loss and pushed Cal Poly Pomona to five sets before falling, 25-18, 23-25, 20-25, 25-13, 15-12, Thursday at Kellogg Arena.
The Golden Eagles dropped to 3-9 overall, while 14th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona improved to 11-1. The match was part of a three-team pod play in Pomona and does not count towards the conference records.
After the Broncos claimed the first set, Cal State LA responded with consecutive victories. The Golden Eagles recorded 10 kills and hit .138 in a 25-23 second-set win before producing a match-high 13 kills to take the third set, 25-20.
Cal Poly Pomona answered with its best offensive stretch of the match. The Broncos hit .440 in the fourth set and .471 in the fifth, committing only four combined attacking errors over the final two frames.
Cal State LA remained within striking distance in the deciding set, but Cal Poly Pomona closed out the match with a 15-12 victory.
Samarah DaCoud led all players with 22 kills while hitting .327. She also contributed eight digs, two service aces and three blocks for a match-high 26 points.
Finley Charapata added 10 kills, six digs, three aces and one block assist. Anaiya Cooper finished with six kills and three blocks, while Havannah Vogel recorded five kills and four blocks.
McKinley Chase and Seriah Demski handed out 16 assists apiece. Juliana Speiski anchored the back row with 16 digs and added five assists and three aces.
The Golden Eagles held a 10-4 advantage in service aces and totaled 10 blocks. Cal Poly Pomona finished with 55 kills and a .225 hitting percentage, while Cal State LA recorded 45 kills and hit .055.
Elle Walker paced the Broncos with 17 kills on .361 hitting. Sarah Ybarra added 15 kills, while Alexia Athans produced 11 kills and seven blocks.
Cal State LA returns to action Friday against No. 9 Cal State San Bernardino at Cal Poly Pomona. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.
