WEST POINT, N.Y. – California volleyball (3-0, 0-0 Pac-12) closed out the Army Invitational in near-perfect fashion on Saturday, defeating Fairfield (2-1, 0-0 MAAC) in four sets and Central Connecticut State (0-3, 0-0 Northeast Conference) in three to claim the tournament crown and head back to Berkeley undefeated on the year. It is the first 3-0 start for the Bears since 2019's opening streak of 10-straight games.
 
Senior Tara DeSa was named MVP of the tournament, totaling 40 digs and 15 assists across three matches. Junior Annalea Maeder (92 assists, 27 digs) and freshman Xuemeng (Maggie) Li (34 kills, 27 digs) were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Vs. Fairfield
A red-hot Fairfield headed into the match with Cal with two wins already under its belt, having toppled Army, 3-2, and Central Connecticut State, 3-1, the previous day. The Bears had no intention of becoming a third victim, however, as Maggie Li smacked down 16 kills on .371 hitting while sophomore Mikayla Hayden added 10 of her own with a .400 hitting percentage; the latter also posted five blocks for the second match in a row. Other standouts included freshman Ashley Li, who recorded 13 kills; Maeder, who totaled 45 assists; and senior Sam Taumoepeau, who posted four aces to double her single-game career-high.
 
Two of Taumoepeau's service aces came early in the first set, pacing an 8-1 run by the Bears to put the Stags on their collective back foot. Following a timeout, Fairfield found their momentum, bringing the score within two to force a Cal timeout at 15-13, Bears. It was Maggie Li who finally broke the set open, swatting a ferocious dart over the net to shake Fairfield's confidence; four errors and two Cal kills later, the first set was decided in favor of the Bears, 25-18.
 
Taumoepeau and junior Ellie Hamm's quick block to start off the second set established a similar tone as the previous one, as the Blue & Gold took off on an 8-2 run to jump ahead early. Just like before, however, the Stags battled back in a furious effort to eventually tie up the score at 10. A Hamm kill allowed the Bears to take the lead for good, staving off any comeback attempts from Fairfield; another kill from Taumoepeau eventually put the Bears up two sets to none (25-19).
 
Cal's only set loss of the weekend came in the third. Fairfield and the Bears went point-for-point for much of the set, despite both Maggie and Ashley Li each crossing the 10-kill threshold to lead the offense. After the two tied at 14 apiece, the Stags pulled ahead for good to eke out a victory over the Bears, 25 points to 20. The fourth and final set gave fans a stalwart effort from both teams, matching each other point-for-point for the first 12 total scores. After that, it was all Cal, who put together a pair of 5-0 scoring runs (including five service aces courtesy of DeSa, Taumoepeau, Maggie Li and freshman Sophia Johnson) to rush ahead and send the Stags packing, 25-12.
 
Vs. Central Connecticut State:
The Blue Devils desperately looking for a win after falling to both Fairfield (1-3) and Army (0-3) earlier in the tournament, but the Bears were not ready to stop rolling onward. Cal held CCSU to just .061 as a team and recorded 9 total service aces, three of them courtesy of Maggie Li; Taumoepeau led both teams with 10 kills.
 
The Bears quickly jumped out to a 5-1 lead and were only truly threatened once in the first set, when CCSU came within two points to make the score 9-7, Cal. Although the Blue Devils eventually found their moxie, posting a pair of 3-0 runs late, the Bears were too far ahead, at one point leading 19-10. Maggie Li finally ended their chances with a kill to cement the first score at 25-18 in favor of Cal.
 
CCSU squeezed out another 3-0 run early in the second set, but Hayden put a stop to their streak with three straight kills to reclaim the lead, 5-4. After a 6-6 tie, it was sophomore Sophie Scott who triggered the Bears' offense to rush ahead for good as they eventually claimed that set with a score of 25-17. Just as it was against Fairfield earlier that day, the third set was Cal's crown jewel of the match as the Bears put together four scoring runs of three points or more. A kill from Scott shut the door on the Blue Devils permanently, 25-12.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears head back to Berkeley to co-host a tournament with Saint Mary's (Calif.), welcoming Portland State (Sept. 1, 7 p.m. PT) and Southern Utah (Sept. 2, 2 p.m.) to Haas Pavilion.
 
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