EUGENE, Ore. – California volleyball kept things competitive on Friday night against one of the nation's best teams, but ultimately fell in three sets to No. 8 Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena.
 
The Golden Bears (13-7, 2-7 Pac-12) were once again led by freshman Xuemeng (Maggie) Li, who posted 12 kills on the night to pair with five digs, two blocks and an assist. Junior Annalea Maeder paced the team with 24 assists and eight digs, also adding two service aces. Cal's star on the service line was senior libero Tara DeSa, who recorded a career-high four aces and additionally raised her career digs total to 1,170 – the 10th highest total in program history and just four digs away from the number nine spot.
 
Cal's defense was no match for Oregon's (17-3, 7-2 Pac-12) offense, which hit .406 on the night. Ducks middle blocker Kara McGhee entered the night with the ninth best hitting percentage in the nation (.431) and more than lived up to her billing, posting 14 kills on .667 hitting. Reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Mimi Colyer also contributed 14 kills while hitting .400.
 
The Bears kept things close early in the first set, taking a 3-2 lead off two kills from redshirt sophomore Ava Mehrten and later increasing that advantage to three points with a block from Li and junior Ellie Hamm, bringing the score to 9-6. Oregon then posted the first of its three scoring runs in the first set, tying it up at nine apiece; following Li's first kill of the night, the Ducks went on another 3-0 run to take the lead at 12-10. From there, the Ducks slowly built up their lead, finally finishing with five consecutive points to claim Set One, 25-18.
 
The second set was where both teams found their highest offensive success, with Oregon hitting .455 to Cal's .263. The Ducks scored first and raced out to a 12-5 lead, but a 3-0 Cal run triggered a gradual Bears comeback, with four kills from Li and two blocks from Hamm powering the momentum shift. Senior Sam Taumoepeau posted a kill to finally tie the score at 22-22, but Oregon took a timeout and subsequently responded with three straight points to take Set Two, 25-22.
 
Cal kept the score tight early in the third, matching the Ducks point-for-point and eventually taking a 6-5 lead thanks to another kill from Li, but Oregon strung together four points to regain their advantage and gradually stretched it out to five points with the score at 16-11. The Bears were not done yet, however, with DeSa's serving setting up a 4-0 run (including two straight aces) to force another tie at 17-17 and trigger a Ducks timeout. Once again, the home team responded well after the break, putting together three consecutive points to take the lead for good and eventually complete the sweep, 25-21.
 
UP NEXT
Cal travels to Corvallis, Oregon, to take on the Oregon State Beavers (7-12, 2-7 Pac-12) at noon PT on Sunday.
 
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