Oct. 28, 1999
Box Score
EUGENE, OR - The University of California women's volleyball team (9-11, 4-7 in the Pac-10) topped Oregon, 3-0 (15-13, 15-7, 15-7), Thursday evening at McArthur Court on the Oregon campus. The Ducks fall to 6-15 overall and 0-12 in the Pac-10.
For Cal, winning its ninth match of the year and its fourth conference match, is a major step for the program. It is the first time the Bears have won more than eight matches and three league contests since going 13-15 and 5-13 in the Pac-10 in 1995.
The Bears were led by freshman outside hitter Leah Young, who had a team-high 10 kills and freshman Courtney Guerra added eight kills with no errors in 16 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. Senior Brook Coulter had a team-high 13 digs.
The only negative for Cal was junior Alicia Perry spraining her right ankle in the second game. Perry's status in unknown for the Bears next match.
After giving up the first point of game one, the Bears went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-1 lead. Oregon came back and the contest went back and forth with Cal holding on to leads of 12-11 and 14-13 before a kill by Guerra put game one away for the Bears, 15-13.
Cal jumped out to a 7-1 lead in game two. The Ducks later got within 9-6 before the Bears were able to take control, outscoring Oregon, 6-1, the rest of the way. Key plays for Cal in its final run were block assists by Guerra, Young and Coulter, three kills by Coulter and a kill by senior middle blocker Kellie Alva.
In the third game, the Bears started out in a huge hole, 7-1, before making an impressive comeback. Cal was able to go on a 14-0 run to win the game and the match, 15-7. Some of the top plays in the 14-0 roll were a pair of kills by Young, blocks by Guerra, Young and Alva, a kill and a service ace by junior Laurel Kokaska (who replaced Perry) and a kill by Coulter.
"I was impressed with the way we were able to maintain our intensity after Alicia Perry got hurt and the fact we were playing in a hostile environment," said Cal coach Rich Feller. "It was a nice night for Leah Young and Courtney Guerra, and Laurel Kokaska did a good job replacing Perry. It was also impressive coming back in the third game. It just shows that if you play point by point and continue siding out, you are going to be successful. We scrambled and were able to make plays at the end of the rallys."
Cal will next travel to Oregon State, Friday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis. The Bears-Beavers match will be televised live on Fox Sports Net.
