RENO, Nev. – California volleyball kept its season-opening win streak alive Friday, sweeping the Montana State Bobcats, 3-0, to remain undefeated at 10-0 on the season and match the program’s best start since 2019.
The Golden Bears’ defense had another solid day, holding the Bobcats (7-3) to .162 hitting while Cal posted .408 as a team. Once again, the star of the defensive effort was senior libero Tara DeSa, whose 16 digs put her over 1,000 in her career; she also added 10 assists for her first career double-double. Reigning three-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Maggie Li once again had a phenomenal outing, recording 18 kills on .484 hitting and adding four blocks (three solo) and five digs to her stat line. Senior Sam Taumoepeau also stood out with a superb all-around performance, collecting 13 kills on .571 hitting, two service aces and five digs, and splitting the game-winning block with junior Ellie Hamm (eight kills, .467 hitting, six blocks); meanwhile, junior Annalea Maeder led the building with another 33 assists to add to her 2023 campaign.
The first set was Cal’s best defensively as it restricted Montana State to just .061 at the net. Hamm started off the match with a kill and followed up with another shortly afterwards to bring the score to 2-1 early. The Bobcats soon responded with a 0-3 run to take the lead at 5-6, but the Bears then yanked their momentum back with five consecutive points powered by solid serving from Taumoepeau. Li’s first kill of the day…
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