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LOS ANGELES - Cal State LA is heading to the CCAA Tournament Championship match for the first time since 2019. The No. 2 seeded Golden Eagles got 18 kills from Emily Elliott and a double-double from Iane Henke en route to earning a three-set sweep over a short-handed San Francisco State team. (Nov. 17)
 
The third-seeded Gators were playing without their CCAA Setter of the Year, Kimberly DeBoer, after she went down with an injury late in Thursday's match. But they showed heart, especially in the first two sets, to make the match much closer than the final score might indicate.
 
They slid their first team All-CCAA opposite side hitter into the setter role, and she helped the Gators go up 19-16 in the first set. A kill by Elliott got the serve back for Cal State LA, and Henke proceeded to rattle off five more points to turn the three-point deficit into a three-point lead (22-19). The Gators got back within one at 23-22, but Ashley Dittmann and Eliza Cannon posted kills on the next two plays to earn the first-set victory.
 
In the second set, neither team held more than a four-point lead. Cal State LA led most of the way, but a 4-0 spurt by SF State brought it to 18-17. The teams traded points over the next few minutes until it was 22-21 in favor of the Golden Eagles, and much like the first set, they had the answers to close. They received consecutive kills by Haley Roundtree and Elliott before Henke finished it with a service ace.
 
Their ability to hit the late run and close out the set also proved true in the final game. Cal State LA held the lead throughout but was up just four (18-14) after an attacking error. However, that is when the run came. CSLA scored seven consecutive points, including two aces and three kills by Emily Elliott, to complete the sweep.
 
The 2023 CCAA Player of the Year, Elliott, finished with a match-high 18 kills on a .342 hitting percentage. She added four blocks and two aces. Henke registered 11 kills and a match-best 15 digs to record her 11th double-double of her sophomore campaign. She also had two aces and five assisted blocks.
 
Haley Roundtree led all student-athletes with seven assisted blocks as she helped the Golden Eagles outblocked the Gators 11-3. Eliza Cannon had 36 assists in the win.
 
Izzy Issak led SF State with eight kills, and Asia Arbaugh added 11 digs.
 
Cal State LA will advance to Saturday's CCAA Tournament Championship match at 3 p.m. They will play the winner of No. 1 seed Cal State San Bernardino and the No. 4 seed Cal Poly Pomona. San Francisco State will await its postseason fate on the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 20 at 4:30 p.m. They were ranked No. 7 in the latest poll. The top 8 teams in the final poll will advance to the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 30-Dec. 2.