BOULDER, Colo. – California volleyball improved its hitting in each set and battled valiantly in the third, but the team's efforts were ultimately not enough in their second match of the Buffs Invitational, falling to host Colorado in straight sets (18-25, 19-25, 23-25) Saturday night.
 
As a team, the Golden Bears (6-3) hit .286 but were outperformed by the home team's .394. Ana Burilovic posted a match-high 18 kills (.438) for the Buffaloes, who rose to 6-3 on the season.
 
Sophomore Xuemeng (Maggie) Li was responsible for a team-high 15 kills, followed by junior Peyton DeJardin's 13 kills on .407 hitting. Fifth-year senior Gianna Bartalo, who has recorded double-digit digs in all nine matches this year, added 11 to her total, while sophomore Sawyer Thomsen led both teams with four blocks (two solo). Junior setter Natalie Lau posted another solid outing in her fourth collegiate start with 36 assists.
 
Cal and the Buffaloes (6-3) exchanged points for most of the first set, with Colorado ripping off a late five-point run to take a 21-16 lead over the Bears; they eventually won the set by seven. The Buffs' offense kicked into another gear in the second, slamming down 18 kills on .500 hitting and staving off a Cal comeback attempt that closed a nine-point gap to five.
 
Both teams hit well in the third and final set, with the Bears out-hitting their hosts .353 to .351. Cal scored the first point off a block from Thomsen and freshman Kate Mansfield, followed shortly afterward by Li's 10th kill. Although the Bears soon found themselves in a hole, they never went behind by more than four points, keeping pace with the Buffs and pulling within one point at the very end of the set thanks to a 4-0 run that forced a Colorado timeout at 23-24. The pause in play, however, was enough for the home team to regroup and post one final kill to end the match.
 
UP NEXT
Cal will finish off tournament play Sunday, facing UC Irvine (5-3) at 10 a.m. PT.
 
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