BERKELEY – California volleyball hosted rival Stanford for the Big Spike at Haas Pavilion Wednesday evening, hoping to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Cardinal (15-3, 7-2 ACC); ultimately, however, the Golden Bears (10-11, 2-7) were felled in straight sets, 15-25, 17-25, 14-25.
 
Junior setter Natalie Lau posted her ninth double-double of the season with 15 assists and 13 digs, while sophomore Xuemeng (Maggie) Li led Cal with eight kills. Fifth-year libero Gianna Bartalo also recorded her first kill as a Bear, bringing her career total to 14.
 
Both teams started off hot, with each hitting above .300 at the first media timeout; however, Cal's offense faded down the stretch while Stanford maintained its momentum to finish the match at .352.
 
Li scored Cal's first point of the game on one of her four first-set kills, followed shortly thereafter with two kills from freshman Kate Mansfield. An early 3-0 run gave the Bears a 5-3 advantage, but the Cardinal responded with five-consecutive points of their own and never relinquished that lead for the rest of the match. In total, Stanford posted nine runs of three-or-more points throughout the match, allowing them to stay comfortably ahead of Cal for most of the night. The Bears were put away for good by kill no. 10 from Cardinal redshirt-freshman standout Ipar Kurt, who hit .563 on the match.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears travel down to Stanford for a rematch Friday night, with first serve at Maples Pavilion scheduled for 7 p.m. PT.
 
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