Nov. 26, 2010

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BERKELEY - The No. 2-ranked California volleyball team (25-3, 15-3 Pac-10) defeated No. 20 Arizona (20-11, 9-9 Pac-10) on Friday, Nov. 26, at Haas Pavilion, to claim its first Pac-10 Championship. The Golden Bears earned a four-set win (25-14, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21) and will receive the Pac-10's automatic bid into the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship as senior setter Carli Lloyd put up 49 assists to go with a season-high eight kills (0e, 11att, .727), nine digs, and five blocks (two solo).

"It's still sinking in a little bit, but it feels great," said head coach Rich Feller. "We had to struggle a little bit and dig ourselves out of a few holes, but that made today even more worth it. I'm thrilled for the program, the players, and the staff."

On Senior Day, Lloyd distributed the ball masterfully as her hitters put up a .272 percentage in the match (61k, 20e, 151att). Junior outside hitter Tarah Murrey moved into fifth for single-season kills at Cal (518) as she led the Bears with 20 kills (10e, 59att, .169) and logged her ninth double-double of the season with 11 digs. Murrey also put up a career-high seven blocks (two solo) to lead all players.

Sophomore middle hitter Shannon Hawari had six blocks and reached double digits in kills for the sixth time this season with 10 (3e, 19e, .368). Freshman outside hitter Adrienne Gehan put up nine kills (1e, 26att, .308) while sophomore middle hitter Kat Brown had seven kills (4e, 21att, .143) and sophomore opposite hitter Correy Johnson had seven kills (2e, 14att, .357).

Sophomore libero Robin Rostratter led all players with her third-consecutive match with at least 20 digs. It was her sixth match this season with at least 20, and senior defensive specialist Meagan Schmitt set a new career-high with 14 digs, to help hold the Wildcats to a .170 hitting percentage (59k, 31e, 165att).

Arizona senior outside hitter Whitney Dosty powered the Wildcat offense with an impressive 30-kill outing (8e, 61att, .361) while adding five blocks, but it wasn't enough as her fellow senior outside hitter Tiffany Owens was negative on the day with six kills against 12 errors (54att, -.111). Junior outside hitter Courtney Karst added 10 kills (4e, 25att, .240) for Arizona while senior setter Paige Weber put up a double-double with 47 assists and 16 digs. Junior middle blocker Cursty Jackson led the Wildcats with six blocks and added seven kills (6e, 14att, .071) and freshman libero Candace Nicholson led her team with 19 digs.

The Bears never trailed in the first set and claimed a 4-1 lead as Hawari got the kill on a quick set from Lloyd. Murrey and Lloyd earned consecutive blocks to push Cal's lead to 11-5, and forced Arizona's second timeout. The Bears continued to double-up on the Wildcats to take a 20-10 lead when Gehan put a shot off the Arizona block for a kill. Lloyd put the Bears up, 22-12, when she sent an overplayed dig to the ground for a point, but three Wildcat errors sealed their fate with a 25-14 Cal win. The Bears maintained a .323 hitting percentage in the first set (12k, 2e) on 31 swings and held the Cats to a paltry negative .026 attack rate (11k, 12e) on 39 attempts.

Arizona turned the tables on the Bears in the second set and ran ahead, 8-4, but Cal clawed its way back into the set one point at a time and came within two points at 12-10 when Murrey and Brown teamed up to block Jackson. Cal continued to press and came up with the 15-14 lead when Murrey went off the Arizona block for a point. The Bears slowly separated themselves from the Cats and got ahead by as many as three points at 21-18 when Murrey earned the point on a cut-shot. But Arizona stayed in striking distance and came up with a 23-22 lead as Karst got the kill. Murrey went high off Wildcat hands to tool the block for a 23-all tie before she got together with Hawari and Johnson to block Jackson for set-point. Hawari went up on the next rally to terminate play on a quick-set from Lloyd for a 25-23 win. The Bears put up 6.5 blocks in the second and held the Cats to a .133 hitting percentage (15k, 9e, 45att) but were only able to log a .140 rate of their own with 14 kills (8e) on 43 swings.

The Wildcats held the upper hand for much of the third set before closing out a 25-22 win to force a fourth. Though Arizona led by four, 8-4, Cal came up with the first tie of the set at 10-all and tied things up at 12 again, on two straight kills by Murrey. The Wildcats got a boost from Dosty as she knocked down four kills in five plays for a 17-14 lead, but the Bears fought back once more to get the 20-19 lead as Murrey went down the line for a kill. It wasn't enough as Dosty's 24th kill of the match ended Cal's hopes of a comeback victory. The Wildcats were efficient as they logged 20 kills on 40 swings (3e) for a .425 hitting percentage. The Bears weren't far behind with a .316 rate (17k, 5e) on 38 attacks.

The fourth set was tied nine times before the Bears broke free for the 25-21 win. Arizona went in front first and took a 5-2 lead as the Wildcat block returned an attack by Murrey. Murrey retaliated a few plays later and came down the middle for a kill to put Cal within one point at 6-5. Lloyd dumped two straight passes to give the Bears a 13-11 lead, but Owens served an ace to knot the score at 13-all. Lloyd went to Murrey on the next two rallies to help push the Bears in front for good as Murrey went cross-court twice for a 15-13 Cal lead. Gehan tooled the Arizona block to give the Bears a three-point lead at 20-17, before Murrey's kill put championship point in the Bears' hands at 24-21. Hawari came up with the final point of the match as she turned a quick-set from Lloyd into a kill. Cal had 18 kills in the final stanza (5e, 39att) for a .333 hitting percentage and held the Wildcat attack to a .146 rate (13k, 7e) on 41 swings thanks to three blocks and 20 digs.

Cal has made a school-record nine consecutive appearances in the NCAA championship tournament under Feller's direction and is one of four teams to have advanced at least as far as the regional final in each of the last three years. The other three squads include perennial powers Texas, Nebraska, and three-time defending NCAA champion Penn State.

The Bears will await the outcome of tonight's Stanford-Arizona State match, which will determine whether Cal will share the Pac-10 title with the Cardinal or claim the crown, outright. However, with two head-to-head wins over Stanford, Cal holds the tiebreaker as the Pac-10's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament and may receive one of 16 seeds in the 64-team bracket. The Bears will find out what region (Austin, Seattle, State College, Dayton) it will be part of in Sunday's (Nov. 28) selection show. ESPNews will carry the live selection show at 12 p.m. PT.