Sept. 3, 2012
Final Stats
HONOLULU - Cal volleyball coach Rich Feller said if his team played with nothing to lose Sunday night against No. 6 Hawaii, "maybe we'll look like Cal."
What the Bears looked like is a team that can play with anyone in the nation.
Cal shook off a three-game losing streak and knocked off the Rainbow Wahine on the final night of the Wahine Volleyball Classic, coming back from a set down to notch a 25-23, 16-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-12 victory in front of 7,051 mostly Hawaii fans at the Stan Sheriff Center. The win followed three consecutive setbacks to unranked teams, a rare development for the Bears.
"We definitely got off to a rough start, but it's not how you start, it's how you finish," said Cal outside hitter Christina Higgins, who had eight of her 13 kills in the final two sets. "Even though we lost to some unranked teams, we came back and beat the No. 6 team. This will definitely give us confidence as a team."
Higgins and Adrienne Gehan shared team-high honors in kills. Correy Johnson, playing just her second full match of the season because of a stress reaction in her leg, had 10 kills and five blocks and was named to the All-Tournament team.
After dominating the fourth set, the Bears (2-3) maintained the momentum to begin the fifth set and raced out to a 10-4 advantage. Hawaii (5-1) ultimately trimmed the deficit to 12-9 before Cal scored two in a row on kills by Johnson and Shannon Hawari to force match point.
But the Rainbow Wahine reeled off three points in a row to cut it to 14-12 and force a Bears timeout. Cal freshman Nikki Gombar shanked the next serve by Hawaii's Alyssa Longo, but a terrific effort by libero Mary McKennon kept the ball alive. Gombar then bumped it over the net, and the Rainbow Wahine watched it drop in to end the match.
"That last play was kind of fluky, but that's what it's all about. You go after it," Feller said. "We had some good defensive pursuit all night. I'm happy as heck that we can get out of here with a win, and feel like we can beat some pretty good teams. Hawaii is a very good team and they are really hard to beat at home."
The Bears trailed 17-13 in the first set but came back, taking the lead with a five-point run to make it 22-20. Johnson had a pair of kills and a block assist during the run. Hawaii eventually tied it at 23-23, but Johnson had a kill and an ace to close it out.
"I haven't been practicing for awhile so I've been working out the kinks and figuring things out," Johnson said. "We have people playing positions that they may not necessarily play later. I think games like these where we have to come together as a team can really test us and help with cohesion."
The Bears lost the second set handily but were right in the third set until the Rainbow Wahine reeled off a string of points late to win it. But Cal came out inspired to begin the fourth set, jumping out to a 12-5 advantage and controlling it throughout.
It was a breakthrough performance for Higgins, who teamed up with Gehan to give the Bears consistent production on the outside during the final two sets.
"I just turned into the mentality that we had nothing to lose," Higgins said. "I was just thinking I need to go out and play as hard as I can. I was getting kind of angry. I tried to channel that anger more into determination."
The Bears now return to the Bay Area to make their 2012 home debut. They play Jiangsu, a Chinese club team, on Thursday night on the Pac-12 Network. Then Cal hosts the Molten Classic Presented by the Hilton Garden Inn on Friday and Saturday.
