By Sheena Hutchinson
Staff Writer
The Cal State Dominguez Hills volleyball team was defeated by Cal State Los Angeles, 3-1 (18-25, 25-22,13-25, 25-20) on Oct. 14 at the Toro Dome.
Coming into the match CSUDH was victorious in two of their three previous matches. The Toros defeated Cal State East Bay, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-13) on Oct. 7, lost a tough five-set match on Oct. 8 against Cal State Monterey Bay, 3-2 (28-30, 25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 10-15) and defeated Cal State San Marcos, 3-1 (35-33, 20-25, 25-20, 25-15) on Oct. 12.
With the loss, the Toros overall record falls to 7-11, 4-6 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
“We made some spectacular digs but we didn’t execute as much” Head coach Jennifer Adeva said. “That is why I think we didn’t win against CSULA.”
Adeva added that the team played very well and showed strong play in their blocking and defense.
After taking the second set, 25-22, the Toros had no answer for junior Alma Serna, who had a game-high 16 kills. The Eagles were also led by senior outside hitter JamieAnn Bero, who had 12 kills.
With the match decided the Toros showed no quit, playing with incredible energy. The Toros were led by juniors’ outside hitter Claire Autry and middle blocker Morelia Castro, who each had 12 kills.
“As strong as we were in the second set, we backed off,” Adeva said.
Castro added that her teammates were pushing her during some of her mental errors in the match.
“We were stuck in a rut that we could not get out of,” Castro said.
With seven matches remaining in the season, the Toros postseason aspirations are becoming slim.
CSUDH continues CCAA play on Oct 21 when they travel to Cal Poly Pomona.
