BERKELEY – California volleyball incurred its first loss of the 2023 season on Tuesday night, falling to 11-1 after a 0-3 sweep by No. 4 Stanford in front of a sizeable Haas Pavilion crowd that included at least 1100 students – the program's largest number in at least five years. The Golden Bears put on a gritty performance, holding the Cardinal (8-2) to their second-worst hitting percentage of the season at .228; however, the visitors posted a solid defensive outing of their own to keep Cal to .076 on the match.
 
Freshman Xuemeng (Maggie) Li led the court with 10 kills – her 10th double-digit performance this year – and added nine digs to her stat line. Junior Annalea Maeder posted her fifth double-double of the season (20 assists, 10 digs), while classmate Ellie Hamm recorded four blocks and senior Tara DeSa paced the team with 14 digs.
 
Stanford started off the match with two quick kills, but an aggressive slam from Li prevented the Cardinal from stringing together a true run; she later forced ties at 3-3 and 8-8, but Stanford soon found its footing and raced out to an eight-point lead (9-17). A big block from Hamm and redshirt sophomore Ava Mehrten, along with a solo stop from sophomore Mikayla Hayden, kept the Cardinal from increasing its advantage further; two points later, senior Sam Taumoepeau posted a kill and an ace to start a late 4-0 run from Cal. Eventually, Stanford put away Set 1, 18-25, marking the first time all season that the Bears had dropped a first set.
 
The Cardinal once more kicked off Set Two with a kill; again, Li rapidly responded with one of her own. Kills from Mehrten, Maeder, and Hayden helped the Bears force further ties at 4-4, 5-5, 7-7 and 9-9 before Taumoepeau's next kill gave the Blue & Gold its first and only lead of the match. Later, down six at 12-18, Cal mounted a furious comeback attempt with a pair of 3-0 runs and forced Stanford to call timeout; however, the Cardinal were just too far ahead, finally clinching Set 2 by a tight margin of 22-25.
 
Yet again, Stanford scored first in the final set and jumped out to a 0-4 lead, but a 4-2 sequence in favor of Cal that included two kills from Hayden slowed down the Cardinal's momentum. Hayden made her presence known with a block and a kill for two of the Bears' next three points, keeping the score close at 7-10; from there, the visitors took control, fending off a late 3-0 Cal run that brought the home team within four (19-23) before finishing off the sweep, 19-25.
 
UP NEXT
Cal hits the road once again, taking on Utah (5-5) in Salt Lake City on Sunday at 11 a.m. PT.
 
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal volleyball, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVolleyball), Instagram (@calvolleyball), Facebook (Cal Volleyball), and TikTok (@calbearsvb).