BERKELEY – Junior middle blocker Lillian Schonewise registered 15 kills at a .542 hitting percentage but the Cal volleyball team fell to No. 23 Utah on Sunday, 25-8, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16 at Haas Pavilion.

Senior outside hitter Christina Higgins added 11 kills and three blocks for the Bears (9-19, 1-17 Pac-12) while sophomore libero Maddy Kerr  had 16 digs.

After dropping the first set, Cal led for most of the second. And after a kill by freshman Christine Alftin, the Bears took a 13-8 lead. Cal still had a 17-13 advantage but the Utes scored four in a row to tie it up. The set was still tied 20-20 but Utah went on another four-point run to take command.

The roles were reversed in the third set, as the Bears fell behind early at 6-2 and still trailed 18-17 later on. But Cal erupted for five points in succession to take a 22-18 advantage. Utah staved off two set points before the Bears finally closed it out on a kill by junior middle blocker Lara Vukasovic.

Kerr now has 444 digs on the season, good for eighth all-time at Cal. Kerr registered 430 digs as a freshman last season, which ranks ninth in school history.

The Bears will return to action Wednesday at Washington State at 7 p.m. Cal then will close out the season Friday with the Big Spike against No. 1 Stanford at Haas Pavilion at 3 p.m.