SEATTLE – The Cal volleyball team played No. 7 Washington evenly for much of the night but in the end the Huskies polished off a 25-23, 25-27, 25-12, 25-19 victory at the Alaska Airlines Arena on Thursday night.

Cal was led by redshirt sophomore Ashten Smith-Gooden, who had 14 kills and hit .481 in her first action as an opposite hitter. Fellow opposite Bailee Huizenga recorded 12 kills and three blocks and junior Christine Alftin had 10 kills, nine digs and two blocks.

The Bears (6-7, 0-3 Pac-12), employing a 6-2 offense for the first time this season, went toe-to-toe with the Huskies for the first two sets. Cal fell behind by five points early in the first set but came all the way back to tie it at 20-20 on a kill by Huizenga.

The teams exchanged points, but Washington scored two in a row to make it 23-21. A Huskies service error allowed Cal to creep to within one, and a kill by Smith-Gooden made it 24-23. But Washington was able to take finish off the set after a timeout.

The Bears got off to a strong start to begin the second set behind effective serving from senior setter Alyssa Jensen, who led Cal to the first four points of the set, including one on an ace. After the Huskies came back to take a 15-12 lead, the Bears scored five in a row to go back in front, highlighted by kills by Huizenga and Alftin and a block by Huizenga as well.

Washington came back once again to lead 22-20, but sophomore Belen Castillo teamed up with Huizenga and Alftin for blocks and junior Jessica Gaffney reeled off an ace to put the Bears in front 23-22. Cal then had three set points before finally evening the match on a kill by freshman Maddie Haynes.

Unfortunately for the Bears, they couldn't sustain as high a level of play in the third set, and Washington took advantage to build a huge lead. Cal did establish some momentum for the fourth set by scoring seven of the final nine points, and it helped the Bears play more effectively in the fourth.

Cal jumped out to leads of 9-5 and 10-7 in the fourth but the Huskies were able to tie it up 10-10. The set was tied 16-16 when Washington scored three in a row to create some breathing room. Washington ultimately pushed the advantage to 22-17 and was able to hold off the Bears to finish off the victory.

Haynes finished with nine kills while senior libero Maddy Kerr had 15 digs. Gaffney had a Cal career high 13 digs.

The Bears will return to the court Sunday for a match at No. 17 Washington State at 11 a.m.