GOLDEN, Colo. -- Cal State Dominguez Hills held a two games to one lead to kick off the 2026 campaign on the road at the Oredigger Classic hosted by Colorado School of Mines, but opponent Colorado Christian roared back to win the final two sets to take a 3-2 win in the season opener for both teams.
Newcomer
Dakota Carvo tied for team-high honors in kills with 12, and paced the defense with 13 digs in the loss.
After falling in a close first set, the Toros took control of the next two stanzas, tallying 27 kills against 14 errors to take a 2-1 match lead.
CSUDH scored set two's first three points, with two coming via hammers from
Natalia Walden-Schulz. The Toros built a 12-5 lead after a Cougar attack error and pushed their lead to 20-12 after another Walden-Schulz kill. CC cut its deficit to just three at 21-18, but a service error and block assist by
Kylie Leopard and Carvo gave the Toros breathing room, where the final CCÂ attack error of the frame gifted the Toros a 25-19 win.
The Cougars started strong in set three, taking a 9-4 lead early. Behind
Jayla Yoder's strong serve, however, CSUDH got to within 9-8 and took the lead on a
Jaidan Alexander putaway to give the Toros a 12-11 edge.
CC answered right back with a 8-3 run to take a 19-15 lead before a Carvo kill spurred a 7-0 spurt to give the Cardinal and Gold the lead for good, and a 2-1 lead in the match.
After dropping set four to push the match to five, CSUDH looked to be in control after taking a 9-6 lead. The Cougars caught the Toros at 10, and forged six more ties, the last coming at 16-16 on a Toro attack error.
That proved the difference as CC seized momentum and the final two points to take the thriller.
Walden-Schultz and Carvo paced the offense with 12 kills each with Yoder dishing 21 assists in the setback.
As a team, CSUDH hit just .142 for the match compared to .177 for the Cougars in the tight contest.
The Toros look to regroup tomorrow with two matches, the first against the hosts at 10 am Pacific Standard Time.
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