PORTLAND – The California volleyball team extended its winning streak to 3-0 with a five-set win over San Francisco (22-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-21, 15-11) and a sweep over host Portland State (25-23, 25-15, 25-23) to win the Rose City Showdown in Portland Saturday evening.
In the match against the Dons (1-1), several Bears had career games:
Xuemeng (Maggie) Li - 24 kills (tied),
Peyton DeJardin - 18 kills,
Mikayla Hayden - 15 kills,
Annalea Maeder - 60 assists. Maeder registered three service aces over the two matches and is now just five away from tying Teri Donahue for fifth place on Cal's all-time career list. Li had 15 kills against Portland State (0-2) for her third straight match with double-digit kills.
Vs. San Francisco
In the first set, Maggie Li picked up three kills in the Bears' opening four points. With the set tied at 9-9, Cal scored three unanswered points capped off by Li's fourth kill. After the Dons cut the deficit to one point, the Bears rallied off three straight points to take a 16-12 lead. Cal went up 21-18 on a
Peyton DeJardin kill, but USF answered with six straight points to take a 24-21 lead. Li ended the Dons' run with her eighth kill, but it wasn't enough as USF closed out the set.
After going down 4-5 early, kills from
Ashley Li and DeJardin powered a 3-0 Bears' run to take a 7-5 lead. USF answered with its own 3-0 run to re-take the lead, however Cal scored six of the next seven points powered by three
Mikayla Hayden kills. With the set tied at 18-18, the Bears scored the next two points and never gave up the lead to take the second set.
DeJardin opened the third set with a service ace to help Cal jump out to a 4-1 lead early. With the game tied at 9-9, Maggie Li registered three kills to help put the Bears up 14-11. From there Cal was able to hold off USF until the set became tied again at 23-23. Both teams would exchange points before the Dons closed out the set off two Cal errors.
The fourth set was extremely tight as neither team went ahead by more than two points and it featured 15 ties. With Cal down 20-21, DeJardin registered back-to-back service aces to power a 5-0 Bears' run that closed out the set and forced a fifth set.
In the deciding set, DeJardin posted two kills to help Cal get out to an early 6-1 lead, however the Dons were able to get back into the set with four unanswered points. The Bears then responded with a 3-0 run to re-gain control. Cal was able to hold off USF the rest of the way and DeJardin registered the game-winning kill to complete the comeback.
"I'm so proud of the team for the way they battled in this match," head coach
Jen Malcom said. "USF had a great game plan and we needed everyone to come back and win in 5. Mikayla and Peyton stepped up and put the team on their back in set 4 and 5 and gave us a spark we needed."
Vs. Portland State
After Cal went down 4-6 early, it scored four straight points fueled by kills from
Ashley Li and DeJardin to take an 8-6 lead. Portland State responded taking five of the next six points to take a 11-9 advantage before the Bears answered with three straight kills from Maeder, Hayden and Maggie Li to power a 9-0 run, putting them up 18-11. After Cal went up 22-15, the Vikings were able to get back into the set scoring eight of the next nine points to tie the set at 23-23.
Mikayla Hayden came to the rescue getting the last two kills to seal the win.
The Vikings went up 8-4 early but the Bears went on a 5-1 run powered by kills from
Kate Mansfield, Maeder and Maggie Li to tie the set at 9-9. Maeder served back-to-back aces to put Cal up 14-11. The Bears then used a 9-2 run to take control of the set and coast to the win.
The Vikings had their best start and jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the third set before a Mansfield kill brought the Bears to within two points at 9-11. A 4-1 run capped off by consecutive Maggie Li kills tied the set at 15-15. Li registered a block to give the Bears their first lead at 18-17. After the Vikings tied the set at 23-23 Hayden and DeJardin nailed consecutive kills to seal the win and complete the sweep.
"Today showed how resilient our team is and how much work they have put in during the preseason," Malcom said. "To sweep a team after playing a tough five setter a few hours before is never easy but the team showed up and gave it their all. Our staff was happy with the first weekend and know there is more that this team can do."
UP NEXT
Cal stays on the road and will play Purdue in a neutral site match in Salt Lake City on Sep. 5 at 12 p.m.
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