Box Score

POMONA, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona women's volleyball team survived two match points in the fifth game but ultimately fell 3-2 to Cal State L.A. on Thursday night in front of 543 fans at Darlene May Gym.

The two squads alternated games through the first four frames, with the Golden Eagles capturing the final one by a slim two-point margin. After CPP dropped the first game 13-25, the remaining set scores went 25-18, 12-25, 25-18 and 13-15.

The Broncos fall to 6-8 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, coupled with an overall mark of 8-11. The visiting CSULA squad improves to 8-6 in CCAA play and 11-7 overall.

Strong serving helped the Golden Eagles to a dominating 25-13 win in the first game. CSULA jumped out to a 7-1 lead out of the gates and collected four aces en route to the 13-point victory. During that opening frame, the Golden Eagles hit at a .520 clip.

The Broncos found their rhythm in the second game, matching CSULA point for point through the early going. A tip from CPP freshman middle blocker Sinead Palmer over the Golden Eagles' front line fell to the floor and the point tied the score at 13-13. From there, junior outside hitter Karissa Lagmay put down a kill with a nice downward angle to give the Broncos a 14-13 lead. After Lagmay followed that point with another kill, CSULA head coach Randi Smart was forced to take a timeout.

With CPP regaining momentum in front of the home crowd, the pressure built on the Golden Eagles and the Broncos captured a 25-18 win in game two as Jessica Doerner and Lagmay recorded four kills each in that frame.

During the third game, the two squads played to a 6-6 tie through the first 12 points. CSULA turned it up a notch at that point, using a 6-0 run to pull ahead. The Broncos had trouble building up a rally off serves as the Golden Eagles ended up converting 12 of their 13 sideouts in game three en route to the 25-12 victory in that frame.

In the fourth game, CPP received some timely hitting on the right side from Kristin McNeese and a tremendous dig by Kelly Bonja in the back row eventually led to a Lindsey Poulous kill that tied the game at 15-15. Poulous and Doerner lifted the Broncos attack toward the end of the game and CPP ended up taking the game, 25-18, to force a fifth frame.

CSULA junior outside hitter Natalia Gonzalez recorded three kills in the first four points of the final game, helping the Golden Eagles to an early 3-1 lead. The Broncos rallied to tie the score 5-5 but CSULA went on a 3-0 run before the two squads switched sides. The visitors continued to earn quick sideouts and pushed the score to 14-11 with a kill from sophomore Marquis Mora. The Broncos rallied to escape two match points but a final strike from CSULA's Zuzana Cizova ended the match.

Up next for CPP will be a home match at 7 p.m. Saturday against Cal State Dominguez Hills.