PULLMAN, Wash. - California volleyball put up a good fight against the No. 4 team in the country on Friday night but were unable to overcome the powerful offense of Washington State, who hit .417 to sweep the Golden Bears (12-4, 1-4 Pac-12) in three sets.
 
Four-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Xuemeng (Maggie) Li continued her streak of top-tier play, leading all players with 14 kills on .300 hitting. Senior Tara DeSa maintained her dominance on defense, pacing the court with 13 digs, while junior Annalea Maeder once again led Cal with 29 assists.
 
The Cougars (15-1, 5-0 Pac-12) hit .545 in the first set and combined for a perfect 4-0 service ace-to-error ratio against the Bears. Although Cal got off to an early 2-1 lead thanks to two straight kills from junior Ellie Hamm, WSU subsequently posted a 4-0 scoring run to claim the lead for good, eventually winning the set by a margin of 25-10. The Bears fared much better in the second set, holding the Cougars to a .286 hitting percentage in their best defensive effort of the night; although the home team jumped out to a 7-point advantage early at 11-4, Cal put together a 4-0 run of their own shortly afterward to come within three points at 14-11, WSU. Li's offensive prowess kept the Bears competitive even after the Cougars clawed back out to a six-point lead as the freshmen scored all four of Cal's final four points in the set; eventually, WSU also took Set Two, 25-20.
 
Both teams went all-out in the third set, with the Cougars hitting .481 and the Bears also staying hot at .429. Senior Sam Taumoepeau consistently kept Cal close, first tying up the score at 2-2 with a kill then bringing the Bears' deficit to just one point at 6-5 and again at 14-13. Two late kills from freshman Ashley Li prevented WSU from stringing together consecutive points and kept things close at 21-18, Cougars, but the higher-ranked team won out with a 25-20 set win to close out the sweep.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will head to Seattle on Sunday for a noon PT first serve against the Washington Huskies (10-5, 1-3 Pac-12).
 
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