BERKELEY – A quick turnaround and a lineup change may have contributed to the Cal volleyball team getting off to a sluggish start Saturday morning.

But once the Bears figured things out, Grand Canyon never had a chance,

Cal erased a 22-16 lead in the first set and dominated the rest of the way in a 28-26, 25-16, 25-16 victory during the Cal Classic at Haas Pavilion.

Redshirt sophomore Ashten Smith-Gooden registered 14 kills in her first start of the season and freshman Bailee Huizenga continued her solid play to start her collegiate career with 12 kills at a blistering .611 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Jenelle Jordan added nine kills at a .444 clip and had three blocks.

"There were a couple of things that maybe affected our rhythm at the beginning," Cal coach Rich Feller said. "But once we caught fire and sort of figured things out, we started playing better."

The first set was tied 14-14 before the Antelopes got within three points of winning the set. But Huizenga put down three straight kills to trim the deficit to 22-19, and added two more kills to complete the comeback. Junior Jessica Gaffney ended the set with a kill.

The Bears opened up a comfortable lead early in each of the final two sets and cruised to the win.

Smith-Gooden, a part-time starter as a freshman before sitting out last year with a knee injury, gave Cal a consistent boost to its offense throughout the match. Saturday marked the seventh double-digit match of her career in kills and first since she had 16 at Oregon State in 2014.

"Ashten was great," Feller said. "We have to be looking at her as a real potential starter, or for sure someone who is going to get significant playing time as the season wears on and we want more options. This was a good day for her."

Since beginning the season with seven kills in a sweep of Southern Utah, Huizenga has six straight double-digit matches in kills and is hitting .310 for the season. She is averaging 2.96 kill per set.

"Bailee is having a great time so far," Feller said. "We know it's going to get tougher and tougher as she gets scouted and the level of competition continues to rise. She's having success and that breeds confidence, and confidence breeds success."
The Bears (5-2) continue play in the Cal Classic on Saturday evening against No. 19 Santa Clara at 7:30 p.m.