Cal State LA volleyball increased its sweep streak to three straight matches, defeating Humboldt State 3-0.
The Golden Eagles and Jacks were opponents that night, but pink filled the entire University Gym as both colleges promoted the annual Dig Pink match.
Dig Pink is an annual volleyball event that raises awareness in pursuit of fighting breast cancer. Both universities wore the same warm-up shirts, sponsoring the event and showed unity among NCAA competitors.
The staff members working the event provided fans with pink hand towels, tossed free shirts and handed out free Red Bulls. The joy of the attendees almost matched the confidence and jubilation of the Golden Eagles.
From the warm-ups to mid-game, the Cal State LA women cheered and motivated each other. The energy rippled through every set as the women dominated the match, increasing the deficit after every win. The black and gold won each set at 25-18, 25-13 and 25-8 respectively.
Outside hitter Mickayla Sherman led the team in kills with 13, and added two blocks. Alongside her, opposite hitter Julia Azevedo contributed 10 kills and one block, while outside hitter Karla Santos added seven kills.
“I think it’s great. That’s what I was just telling them right now. I think their confidence that they give as a team relates to what we also do at practice, and it’s a big part of it. I’m just proud of them, and we just got to keep getting better, better [and] better,” said head coach Juan Figueroa on the team’s energy throughout the match.
The ladies started slowly falling early in the first set 5-4, but once the energy picked up it seemed as if they could do no wrong. The Golden Eagles dominated across the stat board leading 47-19 in team kills, 7-0 in aces, 39-17 in assists, and 46-25 in digs. Although, a constant point of emphasis for them is errors.
“I think the more we minimalize our errors, the better we’ll be,” said Mickayla Sherman on the team improving. She also added the team “had a lot of energy for this game [against Humboldt], and it will follow to the next game.”
