SALT LAKE CITY – California volleyball hoped to play spoiler to Utah's Pac-12 home opener on Sunday, but ultimately found itself falling just short in a five-set, 3-2 heartbreaker in favor of the Utes (6-6, 1-1 Pac-12).
 
The Golden Bears (11-2, 0-2) held the Utes to .185 hitting on the match. Freshman Xuemeng (Maggie) Li posted her sixth double-double of the season with a court-leading 22 kills plus 13 digs, while junior Annalea Maeder reached the 2,000 career assists mark by adding 42 to her total. Senior Tara DeSa recorded 21 digs, the most by any player. Junior Ellie Hamm hit .471 with a career-high 10 kills and tied the court lead with seven total blocks; redshirt sophomore Ava Mehrten added another six stops to Cal's defensive efforts.
 
Li started off the match with a kill, kicking off a 3-0 run for the Bears, but the Utes quickly responded with four straight points. An exchange of scores and a solo block from Hamm tied the score at 5-5; after that, however, Utah took the lead for good thanks to several Cal miscues and solid play (six kills on 13 attacks) from leading Ute attacker Lauren Jardine. Ultimately, the first set went to the home team, 25-17.
 
Utah carried its momentum into the second set, scoring first on a kill from Jardine, but the Bears responded well and took the lead on Mehrten's first kill of the day. Cal soon extended that lead to 7-3 and maintained a slight lead until the media timeout with the score at 15-12, Bears; after that, momentum swung Utah's way as it scored seven of the next nine points to take a two-point lead, 19-17. Although a pair of big blocks allowed Cal to keep pace with the surging Utes, the latter squad ended up taking set two, 25-23.
 
The Bears' defense had their best performance in the third set, keeping the Utes at .075 hitting. Cal started off with a 3-0 run courtesy of a Utah error, a service ace from Maeder and a block from Hamm and Mehrten. Immediately afterwards, the two squads traded 5-0 runs to bring the score to 8-5, Bears, before sophomore Mikayla Hayden's fourth kill sparked yet another four-point streak for the Blue & Gold. Although Cal could never truly get comfortable – Utah cut the Bears' lead to one four times after they crossed the 20-point mark – the Bears eventually claimed their first set, 26-24, off yet another block from Hamm and Mehrten.
 
Still alive, Cal kept its energy going into the fourth by out-hitting Utah .382 to .125. Maeder added to her offensive efforts with two straight kills to take a 6-5 lead for the Bears, which they maintained for the rest of the set. A later seven-point run that included two straight kills and a block from Hamm brought the score to 15-7, a solid eight-point cushion that ended up being the margin of victory. Two consecutive kills from Li (Nos. 16 and 17), plus another from Hamm, gave the set to Cal, 25-17, and tied up the match at two sets apiece.
 
Both teams kicked their offense into full gear for the final set, with Cal hitting .308 to Utah's .346. Li started things off with a kill but the home squad responded by outscoring the Bears 7-2 over the next nine points. Utah consistently maintained a three-to-four-point lead over Cal until Hamm's 10th kill jump-started a series of six straight Cal points, including Li's final three kills, to take the lead at 13-12. One last timeout, however, was enough for the Utes to gain their bearings and score the next three points to win, 15-13.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears return home to Haas Pavilion next weekend, hosting Pac-12 foes Arizona (5-8, 0-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. PT and undefeated Arizona State (14-0, 2-0) on Sunday at noon.
 
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal volleyball, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVolleyball), Instagram (@calvolleyball), Facebook (Cal Volleyball), and TikTok (@calbearsvb).