SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – California volleyball (9-0, 0-0 Pac-12) closed out the Bobcat Classic on Saturday by cruising to a 3-0 victory over Abilene Christian (5-4, 0-0 WAC), maintaining its undefeated streak and coming within just one win of the 2019 squad’s 10-0 start. Three Golden Bears – MVP Maggie Li, Sam Taumoepeau and Tara DeSa – were named to the All-Tournament Team after the match for their stellar play over the weekend.
Cal’s stifling defense held the Wildcats to just a .023 hitting percentage on the day. Sophomore Mikayla Hayden led the way with five blocks, while DeSa posted nine of the Bears’ 45 total digs. Offensively, Taumoepeau recorded 14 kills on .500 hitting and redshirt sophomore Paige Morningstar paced the field with 16 assists.
The first set was both Cal’s best (.300) and ACU’s worst (-.061) offensively. Taumoepeau started things off with a kill and the Bears maintained a lead throughout the first half of the set, taking advantage of eight Wildcats errors on the way to a score of 16-9. A 4-0 run from ACU forced Cal to take a timeout, but a late 5-0 run powered by three Taumoepeau kills and solid serving from freshman Sophia Johnson kept the Bears firmly ahead on the way to a 25-16 win.
Cal raced out to a 4-0 lead to kick off the second set thanks to a kill from Li, a block from sophomores Sophie Scott and Ava Mehrten, a kill from Scott and a Li service ace. Another 5-0 run shortly afterward, once again led by Johnson’s serving and another four kills from Taumoepeau, improved the score to 12-3, Bears; although the Wildcats then scored three straight points, Cal…
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