Sept. 17, 1999

SEATTLE, WA - The University of California women's volleyball team (4-2, 1-0) made a huge step in becoming a factor in Pac-10 volleyball with a 3-1 (17-15, 15-9, 13-15, 15-10) victory over Washington in its conference season-opener Friday evening at the Pavilion Addition on the Washington campus. It was Cal's fourth straight victory of the season and its first win over Washington since Oct. 6, 1995 (3-2 in Seattle).

"For us to be behind in the first game 10-2 and then 14-8 and to be able to battle back point by point and get better as the match wore on is just tremendous," said first year head coach Rich Feller, who was victorious in his first-ever Pac-10 Conference match. "We did a great job of keeping balls in play and got outstanding efforts from everyone. We finished with a .271 hitting percentage, and to do that against a strong team like Washington is amazing. We were able to execute our game plan, which was based on serving tough. The players are showing that this is a team that can make the changes (in the Bears success) right now."

Senior outside hitter Brook Coulter led the Bears with a team-high 20 kills, 17 digs and four service aces. Other top performers were freshman Leah Young and junior Laurel Kokaska with 12 kills, apiece. Kokaska added 13 digs and setter Candace McNamee had 52 assists and 11 digs. In the first match, Washington jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Cal was able to earn its first point. The Bears then mounted an impressive comeback. After being down 10-2 and then having the Huskies knocking at game point, 14-8, Cal went on a 6-0 run to tie the game, 14-14 on a block by Coulter. The Bears next took a 15-14 lead on a tip by Coulter. Washington tied the game, 15-15, before Cal was able to seal the win, 17-15, with a service ace by freshman Caity Noonan and another strong service by Noonon that caused bad passing by the Huskies. Coulter and senior middle blocker Kellie Alva led the Bears with seven kills, apiece in game one.

In game two, the Bears again game from behind to win. Washington had a 6-1 lead before Cal went on a 7-0 run to take a 8-6 lead. After the Huskies got within 8-7, the Bears controlled the game the rest of the way, going on a 5-0 and 2-0 run to capture the win, 15-9. Kokaska played well, recording six kills for the game, and Cal had a team hitting percentage of .308.

Game three was another tough game. The Bears again trailed early, falling behind 5-1 before battling back to tie the game, 7-7. The contest was later tied at 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13 before Washington was finally able to win the game, 15-13.

In the fourth game Cal trailed 4-1, but went on a 10-0 run with the help of two service aces from Coulter, a couple of kills from Kokaska and Young, a service ace from freshman Courtney Guerra and blocks from Alva and McNamee. The Huskies made a comeback to get within 11-10, but the Bears made a final 4-0 run for the 15-10 win.

The Bears, who after losing their first two matches of the season to No. 4 ranked Hawaii and at No. 19 ranked Colorado, have now recorded consecutive victories over Denver, Eastern Washington and Wisconsin Green Bay and Washington.

Cal will next travel to Washington State to face the Cougars Saturday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, WA.