11/20/2009 9:10:18 PM
Apparently peaking at the right time, Cal State L.A. upset No. 2 seed UC San Diego, 3-0, Friday night before nearly 200 fans in the first of two NCAA Div. West Region volleyball semifinals at Cal State San Bernardino.
The Golden Eagles improved to 23-8 while the Tritons, ranked No. 2 or No. 3 in the nation all season, close out their 2009 campaign at 29-3. CSULA’s victory came on set wins at 25-21, 25-21 and 25-22.
Cal State L.A. will play the winner of the Cal State San Bernardino-Alaska Anchorage match at 7 p.m. Saturday for the region title and a berth in the national championship tournament.
This will be the Golden Eagles’ first appearance in the title match since they won it at home in 2005, almost four years to the date.
Senior Gabriela Bulawczyk had 15 kills on .394 hitting while Zuzana Cizova had 12 kills on .296 hitting with 13 digs and four blocks, one solo, to lead the Golden Eagles. Setter Kaylynne DeLaRosa had 36 assists and five kills. Libero Stefanie Gay had 14 digs.
UCSD was led by CCAA MVP Sylvia Schmidt with 12 kills while Katie Condon finished with 10 kills. Roxanne Brunsting had 14 digs from her libero position and senior setter Elaine Chen had 36 assists.
The Golden Eagles outhit UCSD .333 to .200. L.A. had the edge in kills 44-41, assists 42-39 and a big edge in blocks at the net 9.5 to 2. The score was tied 12 times in the first two sets and there were six lead changes in the first two sets, but L.A. completed the sweep in set three, leading from start to finish as Bulawczyk put away the match deciding kill off an assist by DeLaRosa.