LOS ANGELES – California volleyball closed out its nonconference slate Sunday afternoon, facing its second ranked team of the year on the road in a clash against No. 19 USC at Galen Center. At the end of the day, it was the Trojans (9-1) who reigned victorious, earning the win in four sets (25-20, 25-27, 25-18, 25-14) while the Golden Bears fell to 3-7 on the year.
 
Sophomore Dominique Phills led Cal with nine kills and added 11 digs, while junior Sophia Johnson led the court with 15 digs. Freshman setter Maria Știrbu started her second match in a row and collected 31 assists on the day.
 
The Trojans were held to their lowest hitting percentage of the season (.197) but excelled defensively with 15 team blocks. A pair of freshmen – Abigail Mullen (12 kills, 11 digs) and Reese Messer (43 assists, 12 digs) – recorded double-doubles; both also posted five blocks, while Mullen also had five service aces.
 
Both squads struggled with service errors, with each team posting 12. USC out-aced the Bears, however, earning 10 to Cal's one.
 
The first set featured four early lead changes before the Trojans pulled away late, slowly stretching their advantage to five points and finishing the job with their sixth block of the day. USC continued blocking well in the second set, but Cal used a 76 percent side-out rate to their advantage as well as five kills from freshman Arissa Carbonara to force extra points, eventually evening the match at one set apiece thanks to redshirt senior Cherlin Antonio's first kill (and first attack) of the afternoon.
 
Cal jumped out to a 9-6 lead in the third thanks to a pair of three-point runs and three kills from senior Mikayla Hayden, but the Trojans then flipped the script by scoring the next four points and stringing together five-straight points shortly afterward to build a substantial lead that they maintained to the end of the set. USC's offense was at full strength in the fourth, overcoming an early one-point deficit to hit .379 with six aces on the way to the win.
 
 
UP NEXT
The Bears begin conference play Saturday with a trip to Virginia Tech (8-3) in Blacksburg, Virginia, followed by a match in Charlottesville, Virginia, against Virginia (7-3) on Sunday.
 
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