Cal Falls To Oregon State In Four Sets

BERKELEY – California volleyball battled hard against the Oregon State Beavers in Haas Pavilion on Friday night, but were ultimately bested by the visitors, 3-1, to bring the Golden Bears’ record to 15-11 (4-11 Pac-12). Oregon State’s (10-15, 5-10) defense accumulated a total of 15 blocks and held the Golden Bears to .167 hitting across four sets.
 
Junior Annalea Maeder lit up the stats sheet with her ninth double-double of the season, leading both teams with 41 assists, 19 digs and four aces while also adding four kills and four blocks. The season-high four aces brought her career total up to 103, good for seventh in program history.
 
Freshman Maggie Li recorded her 10th double-double with 17 kills (a match high) and 11 digs. Senior Sam Taumoepeau was the first player on the court to reach double figures in kills, notching 12, while classmate Tara DeSa and freshman Sophia Johnson respectively accumulated 15 and 11 digs.
 
Although sophomore Mikayla Hayden starred for Cal in the first set with five kills on .667 hitting and two of her five blocks, the Bears were unable to find a consistent offensive rhythm before the break. Maeder started the match off with her first ace of the night before OSU went on a five-point run; the Bears battled their way back to the first of eight ties in that first set, but another run for the Beavers put the score out of reach and ended in a 25-22 win for OSU.
 
Cal won the second set 25-18, hitting .324 to OSU’s .167 and jolted by the addition of freshman Sawyer Thomsen in her first court action for the Bears since Sept. 1. The Lawrence, Kansas, native posted her first of…