LOS ANGELES – Xuemeng (Maggie) Li posted a match-high 23 kills, Sam Taumoepeau recorded a career-and-match-high 18 digs and both Annalea Maeder and Tara DeSa notched double-doubles as the California volleyball team defeated UCLA on Sunday, 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23), to improve to 16-13 (5-13 Pac-12) and clinch a winning record.
 
Li had eight kills in both the first and last sets and posted the clinching point in all three of the Bears' set wins, while also adding seven digs and two blocks. Freshman Sawyer Thomsen earned eight kills (tied with Taumoepeau for second-most on the team) and added four blocks, both career bests.
 
DeSa's 12 assists was also a career high to go with her 16 digs, the latter of which improved her season total to 496 – fourth-best in program history. Maeder recorded stats in five categories with 34 assists, 15 digs, four kills, two aces and two blocks, while sophomore Sophie Scott powered Cal's defense with seven total blocks, tying her season high.
 
The Bruins (16-12, 8-10) were led by sophomore Grayce Olson (19 kills) and senior Audrey Pak (41 assists, 15 digs).
 
UCLA scored first to start the match, but Li (who hit .500 in the first set) quickly took the lead for Cal with two straight kills. The Bears soon put together runs of four points and five points to jump out to a 16-8 lead, but UCLA responded by scoring 11 of the next 13 points to go ahead 19-18. It took one last 5-0 run for the Bears (including three kills from Li) to regain the advantage, 24-20; two points later, Li sealed set one for Cal.
 
The Bruins led from the get-go in the second set, keeping the Bears firmly at bay and hitting .400 on the way to their lone set win. Set three was a defensive struggle for both teams as neither squad hit above .143, but Cal took an early 8-4 lead thanks to a five-point streak and never lost its momentum for more than three points. UCLA's pair of three-point runs were countered by two from the Bears, the last of which was capped off by a block from Li and sophomore Mikayla Hayden to stretch the lead to 21-16. Eventually, Li's 15th kill gave Cal the third set.
 
Li's momentum was not slowed by the set break, with the freshman springing right out of the gate with three straight kills to kick off the fourth set. The Bruins had no intention of going down quietly, however, tying the score at 4-4 with four kills; a few minutes later, they posted seven consecutive points – the longest scoring streak of the match – to take a 14-11 lead. Cal responded with three straight kills to force the tie, then surged ahead to 18-15 thanks to three straight blocks from Scott. UCLA refused to give up, scoring five of the next six to go up 20-19 before Thomsen's final kill knotted up the score. It was Li who finally pushed the Bears over the hump; having reached 20 kills to tie the score at 22-22, the freshman overcame one last Cal deficit with three straight scores to seal it.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will celebrate their three seniors on Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT at home against Colorado (15-14, 7-11) before closing out the 2023 season against No. 2 Stanford (24-3, 17-1) on The Farm on Friday at 7 p.m.
 
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