ARCATA — After briefly shaking off a sluggish start, Humboldt State couldn't gain any momentum on the way to a 25-15, 25-27, 25-19, 25-17 loss to Cal State Los Angeles in a California Collegiate Athletic Association volleyball match played Thursday.

Boxscore

Hurting themselves with poor serving, the Jacks fell to 4-6 on the season and are now 1-6 in CCAA matches. Cal State LA improved to 5-5 and is 2-3 in conference contests.

The Golden Eagles powered to the first-set win, Natalia Gonzalez, Samantha Potter and Marquis Mora leading the attack in a one-sided affair. HSU managed only two kills in the entire set, scoring all its points on blocks or opponent's errors.

"They play at a good speed, and we didn't match that speed in the first set," HSU head coach Sue Woodstra said. "With a team like (CSLA) you have to play better than we did if you hope to win."

Allison Drobish gave the Jacks a lift in the second set, serving consecutive aces to start a four-point run that evened the score at 8-8. The Jacks fought off a set-point on Alexa Rosendale's kill, then finally claimed the set on another from the junior transfer.

Set three slipped away, however, when the Jack's serving woes returned. HSU committed four service errors while the Eagles put down three aces.

"We missed our serves, and that stopped our momentum," Woodstra said. "If we don't get our serve in, there's no chance to attack or block. It all has to do with the serve."

Sturdy defense and Gonzalez' attacks helped the Eagles again assert themselves in the fourth set. Gonzalez put away eight kills on her way to a team- and match-high 18, posting a .452 hitting percentage.

Rosendale led HSU with 11 kills and Oceana Matsubu contributed 10. Ashley Neal had five block assists and one solo, Allison Drobish had four block assists and one solo, and Merry Ellen Ackema added five block assists, helping the Jacks to 12 team blocks vs. three from CSLA.

Humboldt State returns to action Saturday, hosting Cal State Dominguez Hills at 7 p.m . in Lumberjack Arena.