Bears Topple Gaels, Improve To 6-0

BERKELEY – At first serve on Wednesday night, Haas Pavilion’s court featured two undefeated teams. After four sets, there was one.
 
California volleyball (6-0, 0-0 Pac-12) triumphed in its toughest test yet this season, defeating the red-hot Saint Mary’s (Calif.) Gaels (6-1, 0-0 WCC) in four sets, 3-1, in an action-packed defensive struggle between the two longtime neighborhood rivals. Two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Maggie Li had another solid night, recording her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 16 digs while adding 4 blocks. Senior Sam Taumoepeau matched Li’s kill total and contributed three assists, two service aces and four blocks to the stats sheet, the last of which tied her career high. Mikayla Hayden, who led the 2022 Bears in total blocks as a freshman, continued to impress with an eight-stop night to set a new career mark, while junior setter Annalea Maeder collected a nice stat line of her own with four kills, 37 assists, two service aces, nine digs and three blocks.
 
The Golden Bears held Saint Mary’s to just .029 hitting on the night, continuing a trend that has Cal ranked seventh in the nation in opponent hitting percentage.
 
Although the Gaels scored the first point of the match off a Cal service error, the Bears quickly found their footing and reached the 10-point mark first, aided by a straight pair of kills from freshman Ashley Li and a nasty block from Maeder and junior Ellie Hamm to put the hosts up by four. Saint Mary’s took a timeout to try and swing momentum back in its favor, but Cal was on a roll: senior Tara DeSa…