Dec. 11, 2009
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The ninth-seeded California volleyball team (21-10, 11-7 Pac-10) defeated Baylor (24-10, 11-9 Big 12) in three sets (26-24, 25-20, 25-17) on Friday, Dec. 11, at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in the 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship Gainesville Regional semifinal. The Golden Bears will advance to the NCAA regional championship match for the third consecutive year where they will face either top-seeded and No. 1-ranked defending champion Penn State (34-0, 20-0 Big Ten) or host No. 14 Florida (25-5, 16-4 SEC). Cal will take the court for the regional final in a 4 p.m. ET match on Saturday, Dec. 12, to be aired live by ESPNU. Please check local listings for availability.
Cal was led by senior outside hitter Hana Cutura's match-high 18 kills (6e, 40att, .300) and senior middle hitter Mindi Wiley's nine kills (2e, 17att, .412) and match-high five blocks (one solo). Sophomore outside hitter Tarah Murrey added eight kills in an efficient performance (1e, 15att, .467) that included six digs. Junior setter Carli Lloyd dished out 38 assists and added three kills (0e, 9att, .333) and eight digs with freshman opposite hitter Correy Johnson as the beneficiary of six of those assists. Johnson finished with six kills (1e, 13att, .385) as Cal logged a .330 attack percentage with 47 kills (13e, 103att) in the match.
Baylor was boosted by freshman right-side Tori Campbell's team-high 10 kills (1e, 19att, .474) and senior outside hitter Katie Sanders' nine kills (5e, 24att, .167). Baylor's middle blockers also contributed to the offense as senior Anna Breyfogle had six kills (2e, 13att, .308) and junior Elizabeth Graham had six kills (0e, 16att, .375). Baylor attacked at a .192 rate with 38 kills (18e, 104att) in the match.
Baylor took the first point of the third set but Cal was unfazed as an off-speed tip shot by Murrey made the score, 10-4, in favor of the Bears from Berkeley. Cal continued to press and earned a nine-point lead at 17-8 as Cutura earned her 15th kill of the night on a cross-court bullet. Johnson stepped out to connect with a back set by Lloyd to earn a kill down the line to maintain Cal's nine-point advantage at 21-12 before Cutura's shot off the Baylor block set Cal up with a 24-15 lead. Baylor took two more points before Cutura went off the hands of blockers for the final point of the match and a Cal sweep. Cutura had seven kills without error (12att, .583) and Wiley had four kills without error (5att, .800) to go with three blocks to lead Cal to a scorching .571 attack rate in the final set (18k, 2e, 28att). Baylor had 14 kills (5e, 35att, .257).
Cal jumped out of the gate to seize a 3-0 lead as Wiley went up by herself to block a dump attempt by Baylor senior setter Taylor Barnes. Cutura rolled a shot over Baylor blockers for her second consecutive kill and earned a five-point lead for Cal at 17-12. Baylor the ripped off an 8-3 run to knot the score at 20-all on a service ace. Cal never surrendered the lead even as Baylor fought to tie the set four more times. Cutura's cut shot gave Cal set point at 24-23 but Baylor did itself in by logging a service error and an attack error to close the set, 26-24, for Cal. On the strength of five kills by Cutura, Cal logged a .200 attack rate in the opening set (14k, 7e, 35att) and held the Baylor attack to a .083 attack percentage (10k, 7e, 35att) thanks to eight digs by senior libero Kristen Kathan.
Lloyd and freshman middle blocker Kat Brown met at the net to block a Baylor attack to give Cal the 3-1 lead in the second set but it was Johnson and Brown's block later on that ripped open a six-point Cal lead at 14-8. Baylor overplayed a serve by sophomore setter Kristin Obermeyer to allow Wiley to rise up and terminate the play for a seven-point lead at 18-11. Cal held a seven-point lead once more at 20-13 as Cutura's one-armed dig went across the net and landed near the Baylor baseline for a kill. Down seven, Baylor made a run and earned three kills to sit at a 20-16 deficit. A long serve by Barnes ended Cal's drought before Cutura went up to get two kills. Murrey's cross-court shot gave Cal three set points to work with at 24-20, but Johnson ended the suspense as she connected with Lloyd's back set for a kill off the Baylor block. Cal earned 15 kills (4e, 40att) in the second set to post a .275 attack percentage. Baylor had 14 kills (6e, 33att) for a .242 attack rate.
Cal faced a top-seeded and top-ranked Penn State team in the 2008 NCAA University Park Regional championship where it fell in three sets. The Nittany Lions have since extended their winning streak to 98 consecutive victories. In 2007, Cal took on defending NCAA champion Nebraska at a neutral site in the Wisconsin Regional and dethroned the Cornhuskers in a three-set sweep. Only Nebraska, Penn State, Stanford and Texas have also made the NCAA regional final in each of the past two seasons.
