Ariel Nava
Gianna Bartalo (white jersey) posted 30 digs against Syracuse to lead Cal’s defense.
Trio Of Cal Players Record Double-Doubles
BERKELEY – The grit of the 2024 California volleyball team had never been on fuller display than it was on Saturday night, with the Golden Bears (10-8, 2-4 ACC) thrilling fans with a reverse sweep of Syracuse at Haas Pavilion just one day after being reverse-swept themselves at the hands of Boston College. Cal lost the first two sets, 21-25, 16-25, before winning the next three, 25-23, 25-23, 16-14, to send the Orange (12-6, 0-6) home in an instant classic.
The star of the show was fifth-year libero Gianna Bartalo, who posted 30 digs for just the 14th such performance in Cal history. She was joined in the double-digit digs category by junior Peyton DeJardin (21, a career high), junior Natalie Lau (14), sophomore Sophia Johnson (13) and sophomore Xuemeng (Maggie) Li (12); Li, DeJardin and Lau also earned double-doubles, respectively posting 17 kills, 11 kills and 36 assists, while Lau matched her career high in aces for the second-consecutive night with three. Freshman Kate Mansfield and senior Ellie Hamm each led the team with five blocks apiece, with Mansfield also adding 10 kills on the night.
Syracuse out-blocked the Bears, 17.0 to 10.0, and held Cal to just .073 hitting; however, the Bears won 22 total points off of Orange service errors alone and held the visitors to .175 thanks to a season-high 97 team digs.
The Blue & Gold started off the match strong with a 3-0 run and three early blocks from Hamm, but the Orange responded with a total of four runs of three-or-more points, including a mid-set six-point sequence, to keep Cal at bay and close out Set One. In the second set, Syracuse’s offense found its footing, taking the lead from the get-go and controlling the pace the entire way with a .471 efficiency.
Cal found itself down by a huge margin early in the third, with the Orange ripping off a six-point run to start, but four-straight Syracuse errors allowed Cal to close the gap to three points (9-6); later, a pair of four-point runs for the Bears, capped off by Lau winning a joust at the net, gave Cal a 24-22 advantage before DeJardin clinched the set with her eighth kill of the night….
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