Coming off a great showing at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase, the Golden Eagles beat the undefeated Toros at home, but it was no easy task.

Outside hitter Alejandra Negron led Cal State LA with three aces and 14 digs. Middle blocker Daisy Crenshaw came to play and chipped in with 13 kills, and setter Laisa Maeda added 20 assists. 

The Golden Eagles got out of the gates slowly. Some errors in the first game set them back, including mistakes by Negron and opposite hitter Julia Azevedo. The Toros’ relentless offense was too much for the Golden Eagles to handle as Dominguez Hills took the first game 25-14. 

Cal State LA head coach Juan Figueroa was surprised by the offensive onslaught: “We weren’t expecting them to be as good as they are. We came with a different mentality and they came to kill us. There wasn’t any adjustments we had to make, we [just] had to start playing.” 

Despite the slow start, the Golden Eagles rallied, took control and started to play as a unit, winning the next two sets 25-19. 

The victory for Cal State LA wasn’t solely due to good team play. Coach Figueroa took advantage of some of the mistakes the Toros made. At times during the match, coach Figueroa pointed out Dominguez Hills was in illegal rotations.   

“I was on top of [Dominguez Hills] because when I was [studying] the film, I saw that they were out of rotation in row one. So, I stayed on top of them and the referee gave us two [points] in the next game. It’s the power of the mental game,” he said.

The volleyball team will head up north, taking on Cal State Monterey Bay at its gym in Seaside, California this upcoming Saturday.