[Box score]

MOON TOWNSHIP, PA. - The Cal State LA volleyball team waited a year for the opportunity to return to the NCAA Championship, and a 31-win Wayne State College team would not stand in its way of a repeat appearance in the semifinals. The Golden Eagles played some of its best sets of the season to earn a 26-24, 21-25, 12-25, 25-15, and 15-12 win over the No. 3 seed.
 
Emily Elliott matched her career-high with 30 kills and 15 digs to help lead Cal State LA to the national semifinal for the fourth time in school history and the first in back-to-back seasons. The 2023 CCAA Player of the Year hit .441 as she smashed down those 30 kills in only 59 attempts (four errors). Her hitting percentage was eclipsed only by her .588 mark in the NCAA West Regional final. She is hitting .495 over her last two matches.
 
Cal State LA also received double-double performances from Eliza Cannon, Ashley Dittmann, and Iane Henke. Cannon dished out a season-high 56 assists and 12 digs. Cannon found Dittmann for 13 of those assists. The senior outside hitter posted a .324 hitting percentage playing the opposite side of Elliott. She added 10 digs. Henke had 16 digs to go with 15 kills. Jameson Sanders led the team with 17 digs, and Haley Roundtree had six blocks.
 
Volleyball matches are always about momentum, and tonight, the Golden Eagles found those runs when they needed them most.
 
Trailing 23-20 in the first set, Cal State LA took the following three points to tie the match at 23-23. Wayne State retook the lead to make it game-point at 24-23 before the Golden Eagles again went on a three-point spurt, with Zuhal Cetin finishing it with an ace.
 
After it was tied 10-10, the Wildcats scored four straight points and never trailed again in the set (25-21). Despite the loss, the Golden Eagles had a match-best 19 kills to account for their 21 points in the set. The third set also went to Wayne State as it held Cal State LA to a .023 team hitting percentage with just seven kills.
 
Cal State LA immediately bounced back from its rough third set to take the fourth 25-15. It held Wayne State to a .000 hitting percentage with the same number of kills as errors (8-8) while making just two errors of its own (13 kills). After an opening match serve by Wayne State, Iane Henke served 10 consecutive times to open up a 10-0 advantage and the Wildcats never got closer than six points.
 
In the deciding fifth set, CSLA fell behind 4-1. Emily Elliott then served six consecutive times, which included two aces and two kills by Ashley Dittmann to give the Golden Eagles the lead, one it would never relinquish. Wayne State cut it to one at 11-10. Back-to-back kills by Henke and Elliott extended the lead back to 13-10. The teams would trade points to close out the match, with Elliott earning the final kill to match her career high, set during the second weekend of her career.
 
Channatee Robles had 20 kills to lead the Wildcats. Taya Beller added 16 kills, and Maggie Brahmer chipped in with 13.
 
Cal State LA will face the No. 2 seed, Missouri-St. Louis is in the semifinals on Friday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. PST.