SYRACUSE, N.Y. – California volleyball ended its 2024 road slate in tremendous fashion Wednesday at Syracuse’s Women’s Building, earning a sweep (27-25, 25-15, 25-8) over the Orange to head into Saturday’s season finale. The Golden Bears are now 14-17 on the year and 6-13 in ACC play, while Syracuse fell to 14-17 (2-17).
Cal outdid Syracuse in every statistical category, including a lopsided hitting percentage differential of .317 to .021. The Orange came into the day ranked 34th in the nation in blocks per set but were outdone by the Bears, who posted 7.5 stuffs to the home team’s 7.0.
Junior setter Natalie Lau totaled 45 assists, the most by any ACC setter this year in a three-set contest that also tied the highest three-set total by an ACC player since 2018.
Five Cal players posted eight or more kills, led by Xuemeng (Maggie) Li, who notched 15 on .393 hitting and added 11 digs for her second-straight double-double. Middle blockers Mikayla Hayden (.400) and Sawyer Thomsen (.500) added another nine kills apiece, with Thomsen tying her career high; she also posted four blocks to reach 100 on the season. Ava Mehrten (.500) and Peyton DeJardin each contributed eight kills – a season best for Mehrten. Libero Gianna Bartalo was exceptional in commanding the Bears’ defense, earning 19 digs on the day.
Syracuse posted the first point of the match on the way to a quick 4-1 lead, but the Bears responded with an 8-1 run, triggered by Mehrten’s first kill of the match. Three kills from Li…
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