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POMONA, Calif. - The Golden Eagles love the playoffs. Each year Cal State LA seems to find another gear when it reaches postseason play, and it happened again in the semifinals of the 2024 CCAA Volleyball Tournament when it took down No. 1 seed Cal Poly Pomona team in four sets (26-24, 23-25, 25-15 and 25-21).
 
Emily Elliott set a new CCAA tournament record with 32 kills in the victory. She posted a .267 hitting percentage while adding nine digs, five blocks, and two aces. Freshman Samarah DaCoud added a double-double with 11 kills and 18 digs. Jameson Sanders recorded a match-best 23 digs, and the setter combo of Ashlyn Beaver and Arielle Chandler combined for 52 assists.
 
Cal State LA was coming off a hard-fought, five-set match in the first round against Cal State San Bernardino, but it showed no signs of fatigue early. The Golden Eagles posted a .250 hitting percentage in the opening set with 17 kills as the teams traded points. CPP took a 22-20 lead on an attacking error before the Golden Eagles scored six of the final eight points to take the set 26-24.
 
The second set also came down to which team would execute most effectively. The Broncos used a 4-0 run to hit the 20-point mark first (20-17). Cal State LA answered by taking three of the following four points (21-20). CPP benefitted from two straight attacking errors before Charlotte Koerber and Helen McMullin recorded kills to win the set and tie the match at 1-1.
 
The crucial third set was all Golden Eagles. They jumped out to a 5-1 lead and went up 15-5 before cruising to a 25-15 set win. Cal State LA hit only .189 in the set, but it held CPP to just six kills and a -.025 hitting percentage.
 
The fourth set was the exact opposite, as both teams brought their offensive firepower. Cal Poly Pomona hit .286 percent, and Cal State LA hit .371. Neither team ever led by more than three points until the Golden Eagles' final four-point margin of victory (25-21). It was the block of Havannah Vogel and Ashlyn Beaver that delivered the match-clinching point and sent Cal State LA to the championship match for the second consecutive season.
 
Charlotte Koerber led Cal Poly Pomona with 11 kills. Samantha Campion had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs. Helen McMullin put down seven kills without an error in 11 attempts for a .636 hitting percentage.
 
Elliott's 32 kills surpassed the mark of 31 kills (five-set match) set by Cal State San Bernardino's Lauren Nicholson in 2017.
 
In the past three seasons, Cal State LA has won two NCAA West Region titles and the NCAA Championship (2023), but the CCAA Championship has eluded this team. It will have a chance to earn the program's first tournament title when it faces No. 3 seed Stanislaus State in the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 5 p.m.
 
Stanislaus State will also be in search of the program's first tournament championship. This is the first championship match appearance for Stan State and the third for LA.