BERKELEY – After the first set Thursday against No. 14 Arizona State, Cal volleyball coach Rich Feller surveyed his team to see who was motivated to play.

Senior middle blocker Lillian Schonewise got the message.

The Bears' All-American continued her torrid play of late with 18 kills at a .469 hitting percentage and Cal roared back to defeat the Sun Devils, 14-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22 at Haas Pavilion.

“When we were switching sides after the first set, Rich handed me the lineup card and told me to find six players who wanted to play,” Schonewise said. “I was ready to fill it out, but he took it back.”

As it turned out, it wasn't just Schonewise who answered the call after a disappointing first set. Sophomore outside hitter Christine Alftin had 11 kills and 16 digs while freshman outside hitter Belen Castillo also had 11 kills. Senior opposite hitter Lara Vukasovic added 10 kills and three blocks.

Junior libero Maddy Kerr led the Bears' defensive effort with 21 digs while junior setter Alyssa Jensen had 50 assists and four blocks.

“I handed them the lineup card after the first game and said, 'You guys fill it out. Tell me who wants to play',” Feller said. “I've never really done that. I was being a little nasty, but it was a little disturbing how badly we played in the first set. We somehow managed to turn it around.”

For as ineffective as the Bears were in the first set, they were in control of most of the next three sets. Despite 11 service errors, Cal served tough enough to consistently take the Sun Devils out of their offense. They also passed effectively enough to hit a  respectable .254 during the final three sets after connecting on just .032 of its attacks in the first set.

“The way we played in the second set just sparked us to believe in ourselves,” Feller said. “It's nice to know we can come out and play like that after such a dismal performance in the first set. We were solid the rest of the way.”

Schonewise was especially effective, but that's becoming routine for the 2014 AVCA All-American Honorable Mention. Schonewise is hitting .454 in her past seven matches while averaging 3.80 kills per set.

“Everyone in the gym knows we are going to her, but she just has so many different arm swings,” Feller said. “She's really picked her game up, and her block is coming alive. I think her game is going where it should go as a senior. She's putting up All-American numbers right now.”

The Bears have now won three of four after dropping their first seven conference matches of the season, and Thursday marked their first win over a ranked team this year. It was also Cal's first victory over Arizona State since 2011. The Bears host No. 19 Arizona on Sunday at Haas Pavilion.

“We are starting to understand that we are a good enough team to compete with teams in the Pac-12,” Schonewise said. “We are finding a little more confidence in ourselves as a team. We are planning on being a totally different team in the second half of the Pac-12. We plan on getting a lot of the wins we let fall in the first half.”

Kerr now has 1,235 digs in her career, putting her just five digs away from moving into the top-5 all-time at Cal.