Bears Earn 2nd Top-5 Win Of The Year
LOS ANGELES – The No. 6 California beach volleyball team split a pair of matches against top-8 teams on Friday at the East Meets West Invitational at Manhattan Beach Pier.
The Golden Bears (10-4) started their morning with a tough five-set loss to No. 8 LSU (9-2) but would close out the day on a high note, claiming a 4-1 win over No. 4 Florida State (14-1) to hand the Seminoles their first loss of the season.
LSU 3, Cal 2
The Golden Bears (10-4) fell behind early to the eighth-ranked Tigers dropping a pair of matches on the even courts, including a three-set decision on court two. Down 2-0, Cal rose to the occasion winning the next two matches to even the count.
The court-five pair of Ella Dreibholz and Portia Sherman were the first in the win column taking their match 21-18, 16-21,15-10. Sierra Caffo and Kendall Peters followed with a 21-16, 21-16 victory on court one.
Tied at two apiece, the match would come down to court three where Gia Fisher and Marilu Pally came up just short in a three-set thriller, 16-21, 21-19, 15-12.
1 – Sierra Caffo and Kendall Peters (CAL) def. Gabi Bailey and Amber Haynes (LSU) 21-16 21-16
2 – Parker Bracken and Reilly Allred (LSU) def. Emma Donley and Alex Young-Gomez (CAL) 15-21 21-19 15-11
3 – Ella Larkin and Ellie Shank (LSU) def. Gia Fisher and Marilu Pally (CAL) 16-21 21-19 15-12
4 – Emily Meyer and Ashush Yali (LSU) def. Brooke Buchner and Lara Boos (CAL) 21-18 21-15
5 – Portia Sherman and Ella Dreibholz (CAL) def. Skylar Martin and Brooke Blutreich (LSU) 21-18 16-21 15-10
Cal 4, FSU 1
After dropping the first match of the weekend, Cal bounced back in a major way topping a top-five team for the second time this season and ending the Seminoles’ run of 14 straight wins to start the year.
Emma Donley and Alex Young-Gomez were the first off the sand with a 21-12, 21-15 sweep on court two, but the Seminoles quickly answered with a win on court four to tie it. Caffo and Peters took care of business in the top spot, finishing off their second straight sweep 21-17, 21-19 to give the lead back to the Bears.
Pally and Fisher sealed the deal with a dominant 21-19, 21-13 win on court three. Sherman and Dreibholz added one more for good measure with a 21-17, 15-21, 15-12 win on court five.
Next Up
The Bears head back to Manhattan Beach tomororw to finish the East Meets West Invitational against No. 15…
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