WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.  – The California volleyball team battled hard Friday night but ultimately fell at Wake Forest's Varsity Arena as the Demon Deacons (10-12, 4-7 ACC) swept the Golden Bears (6-15, 3-8) 25-22, 25-17, 25-19 for the second-straight contest between the two teams.
 
Libero Sophia Johnson excelled on defense with a match-high 15 digs, while Dominique Phills paced the team with nine kills. Mikayla Hayden led the Bears with five blocks, bringing her season total to 100 and her career total to 363 (just one shy of ninth on Cal's all-time list). She also posted a pair of service aces on the night to tie with freshman Elise Lau for a team-and-match-high.
 
Wake Forest's offense was led by Paige Crawford, who posted 17 kills on .333 hitting, while its defensive effort was commanded in part by Kelis Hawkins and her eight blocks. Setter Rian Baker recorded a double-double with 16 assists and 13 digs. As a team, the Demon Deacons out-hit Cal .257 to .097.
 
The first set was the most competitive, featuring seven tie scores and four lead changes as well as four kills from Peyton DeJardin. Cal's longest run of the night was a four-point sequence that brought the score to 14-9 and triggered a Wake Forest timeout, while its last lead of the set came at 20-18 off a three-point run. Sawyer Thomsen recorded a kill to take the first point of Set Two, which ended up being the Bears' final lead of the match as Crawford posted eight kills on .545 hitting to help the Demon Deacons hit .417 as a squad and claim the set win.
 
The home team kept its momentum rolling into the final set, scoring the first nine points to build a lead that was large enough to keep the Bears at bay for good despite four more three-point runs from the Blue & Gold, including one that was all Hayden (one kill and two aces). Freshman Arissa Carbonara led Cal with three kills in the third set, while Sophie Scott added two more to improve to a perfect 4-for-4 on the night (a season best) as well as a block before Wake Forest eventually sealed the match.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will head down the road to Raleigh, North Carolina, where they will face NC State (10-11, 3-8) on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT.
 
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