Cal State LA’s women’s volleyball team lost a nail-biter 3-2 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) West Regional quarterfinals against the San Francisco State Gators on Thursday, Dec. 5, ending their run at repeating as national champions. Although the season ended abruptly, multiple highlights and records were broken throughout.
Right-side hitter Emily Elliott had a season for the ages. She broke the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) all-time kills record, ending her collegiate career with 2,011 total kills — 168 more kills than the previous record set by Kim Ford in 2003. She led the conference in points, kills, service aces and block assists — 736, 623, 71 and 62. Elliott was also named the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s West Region Player of the Year.
As a team, the Golden Eagles had an impressive season, placing top five in the conference in opponent hitting percentage, opponent assists per set, opponent kills per set, opponent blocks per set and led in opponent digs per set. They were also top five in hitting percentage and service aces. The Golden Eagles made it to the CCAA championship final for the second consecutive year, falling to Cal State San Bernardino 3-1. This was the Golden Eagles’ sixth consecutive NCAA appearance.
Cal State LA put up a fight against the Gators in the quarterfinals. After being silenced in the first set 25-16, the team adjusted to keep pace in the second set. The score remained close throughout until Cal State LA pulled away just enough to secure the set 25-22 and tie the game at a set apiece. That second set gave the Golden Eagles some much-needed momentum heading into the third.
The third set looked to be going the Golden Eagles way immediately, but the Gators quickly caught up and took the lead. Both teams were on each other’s heels the entire set and tied 10 times throughout the set, but the Gators managed to steal the set 26-24. The fourth set featured more of the same, with neither team looking in full control of the set until the Golden Eagles pulled away at the end and won 25-20 to send the game into a fifth set.
Initially, it looked as though the Golden Eagles would cruise into the semifinals as they got out to a commanding 11-6 lead, four points away from a victory. Well-executed timeouts from the Gators found them right back in the game and more, as they went on a 6-0 run to take a 12-11 lead. Cal State LA wouldn’t stay afloat for long as San Francisco took the set 16-14, and ultimately the game 3-2.
Despite dejection and tearful embraces, the players couldn’t help but look back at the eventful season and the bonds formed over the years. For the seniors, the end was even more bittersweet.
“We’ve accomplished so much in this program and this team, and I’m so happy. I’m so happy I got to play with these two, and even Em,” said middle blocker Haley Roundtree about Elliott. “I’ve played with Em for four years, and we’ve changed this program so much, and I’m just so proud of her.”
Juan Figueroa reflected on where the program was at when he started as the head coach at Cal State LA and how “spoiled” they’ve become due to the standards they set over the years.
“When I first started here, we were fighting to just get to the CCAA tournament,” said Figueroa. “That second year that I was coaching, we made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in — I don’t know how long — maybe 12 years … sometimes you need to take a step back and just realize what you’ve been able to do, keep your head up high.”
Elliott reflected on what it meant to her to have been a Golden Eagle.
“Be compassionate on and off the court, but also hold each other to a higher standard than most people would,” said Elliott. “I think just having a community where we genuinely care about each other and our well-beings.”
Figueroa spoke about the future of his team, as they do lose a crucial key in the cog, as Elliott will be graduating after this season.
“She was giving us — I believe it was six points a game,” said Figueroa. “To replace a player like that is really, really tough, so now some people are gonna have to step up. We’re gonna have to go out and recruit some good pieces and try to get back on track.”
