Bears Fall In Four To No. 12 SMU

DALLAS – California volleyball brought its best blocking effort of the season to Moody Coliseum Sunday afternoon, out-stuffing No. 12 SMU 14 to 12; ultimately, however, the Golden Bears (10-10, 2-6 ACC) lost in four (25-22, 17-25, 17-25, 23-25) against the Mustangs (14-5, 6-2) to end its two-game road trip.
 
Senior Ellie Hamm and sophomore Sawyer Thomsen posted seven blocks apiece to lead both teams, with Hamm’s total setting a new season best and Thomsen’s matching her career high. Two Cal players – junior Peyton DeJardin (16) and sophomore Xuemeng (Maggie) Li (12) recorded double-digit kills, while sophomore Sophia Johnson led both squads with 15 total digs.
 
The first set was incredibly competitive, featuring 10 tie scores but just two lead changes. Both teams combined for five-straight errors to start the match, but an early four-point Cal run allowed the Bears to jump out to a 6-2 lead. Cal recorded two more three-point runs to clinch the set, including the final three points that included fifth-year senior Gianna Bartalo’s 100th-career service ace. In the second, however, the Mustangs hit a blistering .444 that included a five-point run from the home team to make the score 9-3; meanwhile, Cal’s offense could only string together consecutive points thrice.
 
DeJardin’s swing came to life in the third and fourth sets, slamming down five kills in each. The third set was slightly more contested despite ending with the same score as the second, with the Bears posting a four-point run (including two-straight blocks from Hamm) to bring the score within one and forcing an SMU timeout at 10-9; from there, the…