CORVALLIS, ORE. – Coming off a solid showing against No. 5 Stanford on Wednesday, California volleyball (7-5, 0-2 Pac-12) headed to Gill Coliseum on Friday evening ready to go toe-to-toe with a solid Oregon State squad, which had just taken No. 21 Oregon to four sets. The Beavers (6-6, 1-1 Pac-12) were held to just .188 on the night due to several outstanding efforts across the Bears’ roster; however, the home team ultimately prevailed in five sets, 3-2.
Sophie Scott, one of the nation’s top-blocking freshmen and a Portland native, posted season-highs in both blocks and kills as she recorded nine apiece. Sophomore Annalea Maeder (50 assists, 14 digs) and junior Leah Schmidt (19 kills, 13 digs) both recorded double-doubles on the night, with the former crossing the 400-assist mark on the season. Meanwhile, junior Sam Taumoepeau matched her career high with 14 kills, while classmate Tara DeSa posted 27 digs – just one off her own career high.
Cal scored first off a block from Scott and junior Lydia Grote, but quickly found itself in a hole after the Beavers posted a 6-0 run. After Oregon State jumped out to a 12-4 lead, the Bears put together perhaps their gutsiest single-set performance of the 2022 season – a kill from Maeder sparked a massive 21-11 scoring run that included service aces from Schmidt, freshman Peyton DeJardin and freshman Mikayla Hayden, respectively. It was Grote who slammed home the final kill of the set, finalizing the score at 25-23.
Schmidt kicked off…
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