Golden Eagles Take The Fifth Again In Hawaii

Next Match:

vs. Hawaii-Hilo (At Hawaii Pacific)

9/6/2025 | 4 p.m.

Sep. 06 (Sat) / 4 p.m.

vs. Hawaii-Hilo (At Hawaii Pacific)

History

HONOLULU, HAWAII — Cal State LA’s women’s volleyball team found itself in another five-set match Friday in the Hawaii Challenge and staged another sensational comeback for a second victory.

The Golden Eagles (2-1) have gone five sets in each of their first three matches and roared back from a 2-0 deficit for the second straight day, this time reversing their fortunes against St. Mary’s (Texas) and storming back for a 21-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-9 decision in Chaminade’s McCabe Gym.

It was Cal State LA’s second five-set win in McCabe Gym in as many days. In their tournament opener on Thursday, the Golden Eagles dropped the first two sets and roared back for a five-set win over host Chaminade.

Samarah DaCoud had a match-high 17 kills and 15 digs for the Golden Eagles, while Ayjah Landers had 13 kills, three service aces, two blocks and eight digs. Arielle Chandler had 33 set assists and 14 digs.

Laurene Robinson and Taylor Alston had 11 kills each for St. Mary’s, which is a member of the Lone Star Conference.

Cal State LA had a 52-38 edge in kills and both teams hit at a .156 percentage. St. Mary’s had a 16-4 edge in blocks, while Cal State LA had 13 service aces, while St. Mary’s had 10.

Brooke Paige had three aces for the Golden Eagles, while Havannah Vogel had eight kills and one block and hit at a .583 percentage.

After dropping the first two sets, the Golden Eagles found some momentum in the third set and rode the wave all the way in. The Golden Eagles scored the first five points of the third set behind the serve of Zuhal Cetin and got themselves back in the match. A four-point run punctuated by an ace by Jameson Sanders and kills by DaCoud and Cetin gave the Golden Eagles a 23-15 lead and DaCoud accounted for the final two points of the set with kills.

Cal State LA opened up a 16-6 lead in the fourth set and fought off a late rally. The Golden Eagles held a 24-16 lead and, after St. Mary’s cut it to 24-20, a service error evened the match at 2-2.

Cal State LA trailed as late as 8-7 in the final set, but took control with a 7-0 run that got the Golden Eagles to match point. DaCoud tied it at 8-8 with a kill and then served for six straight points. A block by Cetin and Vogel, a kill by Cetin, an attack error, an ace by DaCoud, a kill by Landers and an attack error gave the Golden Eagles a 14-8 edge. After St. Mary’s saved one match point, the Golden Eagles closed out the match on a service error.

Cal State LA will complete play in the Hawaii Challenge with a match against Hawaii Hilo at Hawaii Pacific on Saturday at 7 p.m. PST.