BERKELEY – California volleyball clashed with a strong Virginia squad Friday night in an exciting defensive showdown at Haas Pavilion, posting a season-high 105 digs against the Cavaliers (20-7, 10-6 ACC) but ultimately falling in four sets (25-18, 20-25, 24-26, 17-25) in its penultimate home match. The Golden Bears are now 12-16 (4-12) on the season.
 
Outside hitters Xuemeng (Maggie) Li (24 kills, 18 digs) and Peyton DeJardin (12 kills, 17 digs), as well as setter Natalie Lau (42 assists, 19 digs), each recorded a double-double on the night; both Li and Lau reached new career highs in total digs. Defensive specialist Sophia Johnson also notched a new career best with 21 digs, six behind libero Gianna Bartalo's team lead of 27. Middle blocker Mikayla Hayden was the third Cal player to post double-digit kills, earning 10 for the day, and led the team with four blocks (two solo).
 
The Bears started off the night with three-straight points and quickly extended that lead to seven, forcing a Virginia timeout at 16-9; despite a Cavaliers comeback attempt immediately afterwards, a 5-0 run that included two-consecutive blocks from Ellie Hamm and a set-clinching ace from Lau. Cal kicked off Set Two with a 6-1 run, but Virginia found its footing and responded with seven-straight points of its own. From there, the Bears could only force a single tie as the Cavaliers refused to let the advantage flip, eventually tying up the match at one set apiece.
 
The third set was by far the closest of the match for either team, with six kills from Li helping Cal overcome an early 9-5 deficit and take a late 20-17 lead off an 8-2 scoring run; although Li later added three more kills to bring up set point at 24-22, the visitors scored the next four to take that set and snatch the momentum away from the Bears. Both teams furiously battled early in the fourth, forcing no fewer than 10 tie scores while changing leads four times, but a trio of three-point sequences for Virginia allowed the Cavaliers to take the lead for good before closing out the match.
 
UP NEXT
Cal will head out east to play North Carolina (19-5, 11-4) in Chapell Hill, North Carolina, next Friday at 4 p.m. PT, followed by a match with Duke (9-17, 5-10) in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday at 11 a.m. PT.
 
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