BERKELEY – California volleyball clashed with the San Francisco Dons on Saturday night to give fans a preview for the upcoming year as the two teams faced off for the first time since 2012 in a preseason exhibition match. Interim head coach Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd made her debut on the Golden Bears sideline while all five of Cal's newcomers saw action in front of an enthusiastic Haas Pavilion crowd.
 
It was freshman Xuemeng (Maggie) Li and senior Sam Taumoepeau who made the biggest statements for the Bears, thrilling fans and sparking excitement for the upcoming regular season. Li, an outside hitter from Beijing who was a member of the 2022 Chinese Women's National U20 team, showed off her prowess on the court by pacing all players with 16 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Taumoepeau, a fellow outside hitter, posted a double-double (11 kills, 11 digs) to contribute to a Cal offense that out-hit San Francisco in all three sets.
 
Senior Tara DeSa led all players with 18 digs, while junior Annalea Maeder also led with 19 assists; classmate Ellie Hamm was responsible for a match-leading five total blocks on the night.
 
Cal got off to a quick start in the first set, with a kill from Taumoepeau sparking a 5-1 run, but the Dons quickly leapt back into action and made things competitive. The Bears maintained a narrow lead for most of the set, gaining momentum toward the end with four straight kills from four different players (Ashley Li, DeSa, Maeder and Taumoepeau) to pull ahead, 20-15. It was Taumoepeau who finished the set off how she started it, with two straight kills putting Cal up, 25-20, to clinch it and head into the first break.
 
Set Two proved even tighter than the first, with the two squads staying neck-and-neck nearly the entire way until Maggie Li slammed down her 10th kill of the night to win it for the Bears, 25-23. The third set began in much the same way, but Cal posted multiple scoring runs to eventually go up, 19-13. At that time, the Dons ignited their own onslaught, posting seven straight points to tie it up at 24 apiece; once again, however, it was Maggie Li who shut things down in Cal's favor, smashing two decisive kills to claim the match for the Bears.
 
UP NEXT
Cal will head out to West Point, New York, for its season-opening series as it faces off against Army (Aug. 25), Fairfield and Central Connecticut State (Aug. 26)
 
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