SAN DIEGO – California volleyball kicked off the 2022 season on Friday with a bang, wresting victories away from Army (0-2) and San Diego State (0-1) at SDSU’s Peterson Gym in a pair of nailbiters that tested the Bears’ fortitude and ability to perform under pressure.
vs. Army (Cal won 3-1)
After getting off to a 2-5 start in the first set, it was freshman Mikayla Hayden who inspired a turnaround for the Bears, posting the team’s first kill of the 2022 season and inspiring a 4-0 scoring run. Cal also posted another pair of 3-0 runs until they finally blew the set wide open with a 7-0 sequence, taking advantage of several errors by the Knights and adding kills from junior Lydia Grote (who went on to lead the team with 16 total kills) and freshman Peyton DeJardin. In the end, it was sophomore Annalea Maeder who finished off Set One (25-16) with her first kill of the season.
Army came roaring back in the second set of the match, holding Cal to just a .067 hitting percentage to earn a 17-25 set victory for the Knights; however, Cal responded with a dominant third set in which they hit .440 as a team to win 25-13. That win included a match-high 8-0 scoring run for the Bears that allowed them to pull ahead for good after swapping 4-0 runs with Army; finally, junior Leah Schmidt punched in the winning point to give Cal a 2-1 lead.
The final set between the Bears and the Knights was a thriller that featured no fewer than 6 lead changes and 17 ties. Many of Cal’s points were earned due to errors from Army’s squad, but the Bears also had several standout performances that helped put them over the top. Schmidt…
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