SALT LAKE CITY – California volleyball (7-8, 0-5 Pac-12) put up a valiant effort on Friday night against the Utah Utes (10-6, 3-2 Pac-12), showing both its ability to stay competitive against tough teams and its never-say-die attitude in difficult situations. Although Utah won the match, 3-0, the Bears came away from the night with several positives to build upon as they approach the heart of their 2022 schedule.

Junior Lydia Grote passed 200 kills on the season, leading all players with 15 on the night. Sophomore Annalea Maeder, for her part, led all players with 28 total assists.

Despite Utah's best efforts to pull ahead of the Bears quickly, Cal kept things close through almost the entire set, only faltering on a 5-0 Ute run midway through. Former Ute and current Bear Leah Schmidt posted two straight solo blocks in her return to Huntsman Center, keeping it close late with a score of 18-21. Grote later slammed down a pair of consecutive kills to pull within two; although Utah eventually won the set, 25-22, the Bears had every reason to feel good about their play thus far.

In direct contrast to the first set, the home team dominated from the get-go and never allowed Cal a chance to truly contend. Grote's ninth kill of the match, her 200^th of the season, sparked a mid-set 3-0 run that was the Bears' largest of the second set. After winning that set by a score of 25-13, the Utes continued their momentum into the third, starting off with a 4-0 scoring run that included two kills and a service ace.

Despite this, Cal refused to give up, slowly putting together points until the Bears were able to string together a 5-0 run to tie the score up at 7-7. That was where their luck ended for quite some time, however, as Utah shortly responded with nine straight points that included an astonishing four service aces to take the lead for good. The Bears put together a pair of small runs to cut into their defecit – a 4-0 series that included two Maeder aces and a late 3-0 run with kills from Maeder, junior Sam Taumoepeau and Grote to cross the 20-point threshold – but in the end, Utah eventually clinched the final set, 25-20.
 
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The Bears head to Boulder, Colo., to face off against the Colorado Buffaloes (11-4, 3-2 Pac-12) at 11:00 a.m. PT on Sunday, Oct. 9.  
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