LOS ANGELES – The Cal State Dominguez Hills volleyball team dominated the first set but couldn't find a rhythm in the other games as the Toros fell in four sets (25-14, 19-25, 15-25, 19-25) to crosstown rival Cal State LA to open the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Saturday at the Eagles' Nest.
 
The Toros were also handed their first loss of the season, ending a program-record of seven straight wins to start the season.
 
Freshman Samaya Royal highlighted the night with nine block assists, tying a record set five times. Keesha Aldridge did it three times while Claire Autry was the last to reach that mark in 2014. She was also a kill short to complete a rare double-double in those categories.
 
Taylor Benitez-Fanslow had 10 kills but came up a dig shy from earning her fourth double-double of the season.
 
Dominguez Hills quickly got off to a promising start against LA (5-4, 1-0 CCAA), opening the match with a 12-3 set lead. Following back-to-back errors, the Toros got the sideout and won seven of the next 11 serves to take an 11-point lead, the largest in the match for the cardinal and gold.
 
The Toros never trailed the fourth set by two until a three-point run by Cal State LA gave the Golden Eagles a 22-18 lead that would eventually lead to a set and match win.  
 
Dominguez Hills concludes the six-match road trip back north at Cal State Monterey Bay Friday at 7 p.m. The match can be watched on the CCAA Network (pay-per-view applied).