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#2 Cal Falls to #6 UCLA in Four

Cal received its first loss at home this past Friday at the hands of the UCLA Bruins (25-17, 20-25, 25-17, 25-16). UCLA was lead by Rachael Kidder with 22 kills; Tarah Murrey led Cal with 10 kills.

Cal took the lead early in the first set, up 3-1, before UCLA tied up the set at 6-6 and then broke away to 13-8. UCLA then furthered the gap to 17-10, not allowing Cal to get within more than four points of them before the Bruins finished the set 25-17. The second set began with UCLA taking the lead, but never breaking away. Both teams battled it out before Cal took the lead for the first time in the set at 15-14. The score remained close, as the set was tied eleven times throughout; however Cal maintained the lead to 19-18, before closing the set at 25-20, winning their first set of the night.

The third set began a battle, seeing eight tied scores and six lead changes. UCLA finally managed to breakaway with a consistent lead at 22-14. Cal scored a few more points before UCLA ended the set 25-17. UCLA took their momentum into the fourth set leading at 4-2, before the lead changed hands to Cal at 5-4. UCLA then took back the lead at 7-5 and they never relinquished it. Cal managed to get within two points at 18-16, but UCLA closed the match with a seven point run to win 25-16.

UCLA has risen to #1 in NCAA AVCA rankings as of Monday, October 31^st, while Cal dropped to #7.

#2 Cal Swept by #4 USC

Fourth ranked USC swept #2 Cal Saturday evening in three (25-15, 25-17, 25-22). Shannon Hawari led the Golden Bears with 14 kills; USC was led by Alex Jupiter with 15 kills.

USC took the lead in the first set, only allowing Cal within one point of them at 6-5 before breaking off on a six point run to 12-5. Cal managed to go back and forth with USC for several points to reach 13-20. The Golden Bears then pulled off two more points thanks to a couple kills before USC finished the match with 25-15. The second set began again with a USC lead, reaching 4-0 before Cal put a point on the board. However Cal was never able to get within three points of the Trojans, despite preventing the USC from going on any long runs. At 21-13, USC finally went on a three point run, however Cal wasn’t done fighting, the Golden Bears got four more points on the board before USC finished the set at 25-17.

For the first time in the match, Cal took the lead at the start of the third set. The third set was the first one of the evening that saw tied scores and lead changes, four and three respectively. USC responded to Cal’s lead with a five point run, which only prompted Cal to fire back with a four point run. The Trojans managed one point to slow the Golden Bears before Cal took off with seven point run to 12-6. A kill from Kendall Bateman gave USC another point before Cal again ran with the ball for a four point run to 16-7. USC finally responded with some points of their own, coming within three points of Cal, before a six point run gave the Trojans the lead at 21-19. Cal fought back within one point of USC at 23-22, before the Trojans finished the match with two kills for 25-22.

USC remains at #4 in NCAA AVCA rankings as of Monday, October 31^st.

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