The women’s volleyball team soared onto the court to take on Stanislaus State, Friday Oct. 11 at University Gym, ultimately losing to Stanislaus with a score of 3-2, but bounced back into the win column the following afternoon against Chico State. The Golden Eagles regained momentum on Saturday, winning their first set 25-21. From there, they never looked back and dominated the following sets 25-15 and 25-13, defeating Chico State and earning them their third victory in their last four matches.
The first game started off with the Eagles being scored on twice within the first five minutes of the game. They soon got their heads in the game and started scoring back. The Eagles start gaining on Stanislaus but were always just a few points behind and the first set of the match ended in favor of Stanislasus, 20-25.
The Eagles pick up the pace on set two. They maintained an even score with Stanislaus for a majority of the set. The set turned in the Eagles favor towards the later part of the set. With a score of 17-17 the Golden Eagles gained a seven point lead, finishing the set strong with a score of 25-18.
The Eagles kept up their energy from the last round and got up to a five point lead up early on in the third set. The set played out in a similar manner to the second, with the Eagles fending off Stanislaus advances and blocking wherever they could. The set concluded in favor of the Eagles, 25-17
Things turned on their head in the fourth set as Stanislaus started to make its comeback and really make the Eagles fight for lead. In the end Stanisluas got the upper hand on the Eagles for the set and finished it off with a score of 25-22.
In the final round both teams gave it their all, struggling to stay one step ahead of the other team. It looked to be a close match for both teams but eventually some of the Eagles’ serves went out of bounds putting Stanislaus ahead and with the score being 14-12. The last and deciding point in the game was made by an out of bounds shot, giving the set to Stanislaus and winning them the game.
Despite losing the match, players remained optimistic. “I’m hopeful that we’ll win more. I believe in my team,” team libero Jameson Sanders said. “We just gotta focus on the next one.”
The team took the loss on the chin and acknowledged that there were some areas that needed improvement.
“Right now it’s our passing can be our biggest weakness, but it can also be a strength too,” said middle blocker Haley Roundtree. “When we’re on, we are on and when we’re off, we can be really off.”
Statistically the team did really well. They had 48 kills, with half being made by Emily Elliot. They also made seven aces and 17 blocks, but had 25 errors this game.
Looking to bounce back from a Friday loss, the Golden Eagles got off to an 8-3 lead in the first set against Chico State. Chico State battled hard in the first set, tying the game 10-10 with Jillian Davis and Kassandra Nall contributing to an ace and a kill. The Golden Eagles quickly stopped Chico State’s rally and regained an 11-10 lead with the help of Emily Elliot’s kill. The Golden Eagles used that momentum to go on a 6-0 run and never looked back from there. Chico State attempted to make a comeback, but the Golden Eagles offense was too much as they would take the first set 25-21.
Entering the second set, The Golden Eagle battled, falling into a 7-6 deficit, but got back into rhythm, grabbing a 15-14 lead with the help of Sam Mccloud’s kill. From there, it was complete domination as the Golden soared through the second set, winning 25-15.
The third set was complete dominance for the Golden Eagles by jumping to an 8-1 lead. Brooke Paige made a massive contribution in this final set with seven straight points, including two aces. Chico State sparked a small rally, cutting the lead 21-13, but the small rally wasn’t enough. The Golden Eagle soared through the final set and dominated, with two kills from Emily Elliot and Brooke Paige putting the cherry on top with an ace and an attack error.
This victory put the Golden Eagles back in the win column. Emily Elliot said, “It feels pretty good, especially from last night’s loss. Going 3-0 feels great.”
The victory puts No. 18 Cal State LA at a 10-5 season record and 5-3 California Collegiate Athletic Association record, tied for 3rd place for the season. They look to continue this momentum throughout the season.
“The mindset is just winning every game so obviously losing that one from last night the way we did was tough. We just got to stay positive and keep pushing in the right direction,” said head coach Juan Figueroa
