TUCSON, Ariz. – Junior Christine Alftin had 19 kills and sophomore Belen Castillo registered a career-high seven blocks to go along with 10 kills, but the Cal volleyball team dropped an ultra-competitive 19-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-19 decision at Arizona on Friday.

Freshman Maddie Haynes also had 10 kills for the Bears (9-18, 3-14 Pac-12), who erased a 24-19 deficit in the second set to reach set point, only to see the Wildcats pull back ahead and close it out.

After the first set was tied 14-14, the Bears gradually distanced themselves from the Wildcats and won the set going away. A block by Haynes and Castillo, an ace by Alftin and a kill by Haynes gave the Bears a 17-14 lead. After Arizona closed to within 19-17, senior Jenelle Jordan came up with a block and a kill and Alftin followed with a kill of her own to push Cal's advantage to 22-17. The set ended on a Wildcats service error.

The Bears never led in the second set but kept it nip and tuck throughout. They fell behind 15-12 but scored three in a row to tie it. After Arizona went up 20-18, Cal knotted the score again on a kill by Castillo and a block by Castillo and sophomore Mackenzie Albrecht. The Bears staved off one set point at 24-22 on a kill by Alftin, but the Wildcats were able to close it out and even the match.

The Bears almost pulled off a memorable comeback in the third set after Arizona reached set point at 24-19. A block by Castillo and a couple of hitting errors by the Wildcats made it 24-22. After Arizona called timeout, Cal completed the comeback and took at 25-24 lead on another Wildcats hitting error, a block by Jordan and an ace by senior Sabrina Blackwell. But Arizona was able to regroup and score the next three points to take the lead in the match.

Senior libero Maddy Kerr led Cal's defensive effort with 13 digs, giving her 1,736 for her career. She is now 74 short of the program's all-time record of 1,810, set by Jillian Davis from 2003-06. The Bears have three matches remaining, beginning with Saturday's match at Arizona State. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT. Live video and audio are available at CalBears.com.