BERKELEY – California volleyball posted its biggest win of the season on Sunday afternoon, welcoming traditional powerhouse USC to Haas Pavilion and taking care of business against the Trojans (11-7, 5-3 Pac-12) with a 3-1 victory.
The Golden Bears (13-6, 2-6 Pac-12) snapped a 14-match losing streak against USC for their first win in the series since 2014 and the first in four-or-fewer sets since 2010.
Coming into the weekend, the Trojans ranked among the NCAA’s top-50 teams in three offensive categories, including a 24th-ranked team hitting percentage of .270. Their powerful attack was no match for Cal’s defense, however, which held the visitors to .228 thanks in no small part to seniors Tara DeSa and Sam Taumoepeau posting 22 and 12 digs, respectively.
Junior Annalea Maeder made a huge impact by recording stats in all five categories, matching her career high with six kills while also posting 35 assists, two service aces, nine digs and one block. Sophomore Mikayla Hayden was once again remarkably efficient with 10 kills on .500 hitting – her second straight performance with double-digit kills – while freshman Maggie Li paced the Bears with 17 kills and added seven digs. Helping to round out Cal’s defensive effort was junior Ellie Hamm, who posted a career-high six digs and was responsible for two of Cal’s blocks.
“It took every person on the team for us to win that match,” said interim head coach Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd. “We played scrappy defense and challenged USC…
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