BERKELEY – California volleyball came into its home opener hoping to put on a show for fans and more than delivered in the entertainment factor, toppling Portland State, 3-1, in front of a raucous Haas Pavilion crowd Friday night.
 
The star of the show was reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Xuemeng (Maggie) Li, who recorded 20 kills and sparked a massive first-set comeback with three straight service aces; the Beijing native also posted nine digs on the night. Senior Sam Taumoepeau also reached the double-digit kills mark with 10, adding a career-high 16 digs for Cal's third double-double of the season.
 
Sophomores Mikayla Hayden and Sophie Scott each added four blocks to their career total, while senior libero Tara DeSa contributed 24 digs and junior setter Annalea Maeder led with 32 assists and three more service aces.
 
Taumoepeau recorded the first kill of the match, but the Vikings (2-2) were undaunted and quickly darted out to a sizable nine-point lead. Late in the set, the differential remained at nine, with Cal (4-0) having scored just 10 points to Portland State's 19; at that point, Li had had enough, smacking down a kill to head into her three-ace run. Another 4-0 run followed shortly afterward, with Cal taking advantage of multiple Vikings errors and adding a block to Hayden's and redshirt sophomore Ava Mehrten's stat lines, thus bringing the score to 20-18 in favor of the visitors. Portland State could only muster up three more kills as the home fans roared and the Bears went on a 7-3 run to clinch the first set, 25-23, aided by two kills from Taumoepeau, one kill apiece from Maggie Li and fellow freshman Ashley Li, and a block from Ashley Li and classmate Sawyer Thomsen.
 
Portland State snatched the momentum back in the second set and refused to relinquish until they had recorded a 25-13 win. Early in the third, they threatened to do the same as the Bears faced an 8-15 deficit; once again, it was Maggie Li who kick-started another comeback, swatting down her 12th kill of the night to spark a 7-0 Cal scoring run and tie up the score. DeSa then posted a service ace of her own to finally take the lead for the Bears; although the Viks soon tied it back up at 20, the Blue & Gold remained stalwart as Maggie Li and Maeder combined for three more kills, plus a block from Maeder and Scott, for the 25-22 set win.
 
It was a kill from Scott that started things off in what turned out to be the evening's final set. Although Portland State kept things close, forcing no fewer than nine ties, Cal eventually pulled ahead just enough to send the visitors packing. A 6-0 run capped off by a block from Hayden and Maeder put the Bears ahead for good; the Viks did come within one point late with 18 points to Cal's 19, but kills 18, 19 and 20 from Li inspired another ace from Maeder and two straight kills from sophomore Peyton Dejardin to seal the match, 25-18.
 
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The Bears hope to continue their hot streak as they return to Haas Pavilion on Saturday at 2 p.m. to face Southern Utah (2-3).
 
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