LOS ANGELES – California volleyball (7-18, 0-15 Pac-12) posted another five-set thriller on Thursday night, taking on UCLA (14-10, 8-7) in a rematch at Pauley Pavilion that quickly proved an entirely different narrative than that of the last matchup between the Bears and the Bruins two weeks ago.

Junior Lydia Grote finished the evening with a career-high 28 kills - the best offensive performance by a Golden Bear since 2010 (Tarah Murray, 34 kills vs. USC) - while sophomore Annalea Maeder posted her own career high in service aces (4) and added 51 assists and 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. Senior Sydney Lilomaiava tied her career best of 6 blocks, just one less than match leader Sophie Scott's 7, as junior Tara DeSa totaled a match-leading 20 digs.

Ultimately, the Bruins prevailed, 3-2, despite Cal out-blocking them 13-3.

The first set, a come-from-behind nailbiter that the Bears won by a margin of 25-23, featured three 3-0 scoring runs for Cal and the first seven kills of Grote's incredible night – including four of the Bears' last five points. They followed that up with a dominant second set, hitting .379 on the way to a 25-15 victory and posting five blocks (three from Lilomaiava) to hold the Bruins down.

Despite a 5-0 scoring run in the third set, UCLA roared back from the brink of defeat to force another set, 25-18, and then a fifth after taking the fourth set with a score of 25-21. Eventually, the Bruins closed out the match with a 15-8 final set.
 
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The Bears head across town to USC's Galen Center on Saturday, Nov. 12, where they will take on the Trojans (18-8, 10-5 Pac-12) at 1:00 p.m. PT.

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