BLACKSBURG, Va. – California volleyball broke its five-match losing streak and posted its first road win of the season Saturday afternoon, traveling across the country to Virginia Tech with high hopes of starting ACC play off with a bang. The Golden Bears (4-7. 1-0 ACC) rose to their own expectations, hitting a season-high .359 and holding the Hokies (8-4, 0-1) to .162 on the way to their second sweep of the year (25-21, 25-18, 25-19).
 
Peyton DeJardin posted an outstanding offensive performance with 17 kills and just one error for a career-high .533 hitting percentage, while Cherlin Antonio recorded 10 kills in her first start as a Bear. Mikayla Hayden added nine kills of her own on .500 hitting as well as four blocks, aiding a defensive effort that was paced by Sophia Johnson's 16 digs and Francesca Popescu's 10. Freshman setter Maria Știrbu posted another solid outing with 39 assists and eight digs as well as the match-winning kill.
 
Offensively, Virginia Tech was led by Reese Hazelton (eight kills) and Isabella Mishler (seven kills, .375 hitting), while Ainsley Ranstead (12) and Erica Fava (10) recorded double-digit digs for the Hokies.
 
DeJardin scored the first kill of the match on a kill before the home squad went on a three-point run, but the Bears responded with seven-straight points of their own as they were powered by the serving of Popescu and two blocks from Hayden and Știrbu. Virginia Tech managed two more 3-0 runs during the set but could not regain the lead as Cal stretched their advantage back out with a late 6-1 sequence. Eventually, it was DeJardin who finally clinched the first set with her fifth kill of the match.
 
The Bears posted a whopping 84-percent sideout percentage in the second to power them to their most dominant set win, while Hayden went a perfect 4-for-4 on her attacks and added two blocks. Sawyer Thomsen got things started with her fourth kill of the day, followed by a 6-2 series in favor of Cal as the Bears quickly jumped out to a five-point lead. The Hokies could only manage more than two points in a row once, a three-point run when they were trailing by seven (17-10); they fended Cal's Dominique Phills off at set point with a powerful block, but Phills responded on the point afterward with her third kill of the match to give Cal a two-set advantage.
 
Set Three was the Bears' best offensive performance yet, hitting .400 thanks in no small part to DeJardin's seven kills on nine swings (.778). Virginia Tech also had their best offensive outing, averaging .242 and scoring the first point of the set while forcing eight ties and five total lead changes. Cal broke things open for good off a four-point run initiated by Antonio's ninth kill, raising the score to 11-8 to keep the Hokies at bay. Phills's sixth kill eventually brought the Bears to set point, followed by a dump over the net from Știrbu in her lone attack of the day for the victory.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears close out the weekend Sunday in Charlottesville, Virginia, as they take on the Virginia Cavaliers (7-4, 0-1 ACC) at 10:30 a.m. PT/1:30 p.m. PT.
 
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