Golden Eagles Storm Back To Win Conference Opener

Next Match:

at Chico State

9/20/2025 | 5 p.m.

Sep. 20 (Sat) / 5 p.m.

at Chico State

History

ARCATA — Cal State LA’s women’s volleyball team has been no stranger to dramatic victories so far this season and Thursday’s California Collegiate Athletic Association opener at Cal Poly Humboldt was no different.

The Golden Eagles were down 2-1 and trailed 16-9 and 21-19 in the fourth set before rallying for a 21-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 15-9 victory in Lumberjack Arena. Cal State LA (5-3, 1-0 CCAA) is already 4-1 in five-set matches this season and the Golden Eagles trailed after three sets in all of them.

Samarah DaCoud had a match-high 24 kills for the Golden Eagles, while Ayjah Landers had 18 kills and hit at a .389 percentage. Zuhal Cetin had 10 kills and six digs.

Graysen Trupp had 14 kills for Cal Poly Humboldt (0-9, 0-1 CCAA), while Isabella Hartwig had 11 kills.

Juliana Speiski had a match-high 19 digs, seven set assists and four aces, while McKinley Chase had 22 set assists and 14 digs.

Cal State LA had a 64-57 edge in kills and outhit the ‘Jacks, .235-.185. Cal Poly Humboldt had a 9-7 edge in blocks. The Golden Eagles had nine service aces and eight errors, while the ‘Jacks had eight aces and 10 errors.

The Golden Eagles found themselves in a big dilemma in the fourth set, facing a 16-9 deficit. A kill by DaCoud made it 16-10 and Speiski then served for eight straight points to give the Golden Eagles an 18-16 lead. After a block by Havannah Vogel and Landers and a kill by Landers tied it at 16-16, an ace by Speiski and an attack error pushed the Golden Eagles ahead.

Cal State LA then faced a 21-19 deficit before a kill by DaCoud started a 6-0 run highlighted by DaCoud’s serving run that sent the match to a fifth set.

Back-to-back aces by Speiski helped the Golden Eagles to a 4-1 lead in the final set. The set was tied four times, the last time at 9-9, before a kill by DaCoud got the serve back for Speiski and she proceeded to serve out the match. A kill by Landers, an attack error, a kill by DaCoud and two more attack errors pushed the Golden Eagles across the finish line.

Cal State LA will return to action on Saturday with a road match at Chico State.