BERKELEY – California volleyball snapped a five-match losing streak with a dominant three-set win over Duke on Friday night in the first of four-straight matches at Haas Pavilion, earning the victory with scores of 21-25, 25-13 and 25-18. The Golden Bears improved to 7-16 (4-9 ACC) on the year, while the Blue Devils fell to 5-19 (2-11).
 
Peyton DeJardin (364) and Arissa Carbonara (.320) were the offensive standouts for Cal, respectively posting 14 kills and 11 kills, while Maria Știrbu recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 32 assists and 11 digs. Four Cal players had three or more blocks, led by Mikayla Hayden's five; her effort also moved her up to eighth in career blocks on the program's all-time list with 371, surpassing 1990 graduate Carolyn Kempker.
 
Sophia Johnson posted another standout performance with 17 digs, while Francesca Popescu totaled 13 digs and matched her career high with five service aces.
 
The Bears outdid the Blue Devils in every statistical category, including double-digit leads in kills (40 to 19), assists (38 to 17) and digs (66 to 47), and held them to just .027 hitting. Duke's Taylor Williams led her team in kills (seven), digs (11) and blocks (four) and posted one of the Blue Devils' four service aces.
 
Neither team hit efficiently in the first set, but Cal's serving came in clutch when it mattered as it clawed out of some early deficits – Popescu's first ace forced a 10-10 tie, while Hayden's first of two-straight aces tied up the score at 14-14. Cal took the lead for good just two points later and slowly extended its advantage, finally clinching the set off a long rally that ended with DeJardin's fifth kill.
 
Although Duke scored the first three points of the next set, it was Carbonara's time to shine as she posted seven of her kills on .455 hitting. Cal stretched its lead out to nine points (15-6) off a 7-0 run, effectively ending any chances of a Blue Devils comeback, before winning Set Two by 12 points after another four-point run. DeJardin took up the challenge in the final set, earning eight kills (including the first three points) at a .467 clip. Another mid-set seven-point run for the Bears (kicked off by Ashley Li's eighth kill) brought the score to 17-9, which proved insurmountable for Duke before Hayden sealed the deal with a kill.
 
 
UP NEXT
The Bears host No. 15 North Carolina (17-5, 10-3) on Sunday at Haas Pavilion, with first serve scheduled for 1 p.m. PT.
 
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