Sept. 6, 2009

Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF)

HONOLULU - The No. 10-ranked California volleyball team (3-3) weathered the storm to come away with a five-set win (25-21, 25-16, 20-25, 17-25, 15-11) over host No. 4 Hawai'i (4-2) in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Golden Bears were led by senior outside hitter Hana Cutura's career-high 30 kills (72 attacks) and senior middle hitter Mindi Wiley's 11 kills (1e, 20att) and .500 attack percentage. Cutura and Wiley were each named to the all-tournament team for their performances.

Cutura's 30-kill performance was the first for a Cal player since All-American outside hitter Mia Jerkov broke the plateau against Georgia Tech in the NCAA Regional Semifinal on Dec. 12, 2003. Cutura finished with eight digs and added two blocks to her final line. Sophomore outside hitter Tarah Murrey contributed 12 kills (7e, 34att, .147) and the Bears out-blocked the Wahine, 14.0-10.0 thanks in part to seven blocks coming from freshman middle hitter Kat Brown, who appeared in her first collegiate match tonight. Junior setter Carli Lloyd led the team with 48 assists and added four kills (0e, 12att, .333), nine digs and five blocks. Senior libero Kristen Kathan had a match and season-high 18 digs.

The Bears attacked at a .239 rate with 60 kills (23e, 155att) and the Wahine posted a .215 rate with 59 kills (27e, 149att). Hawai'i was led by sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Ferrell's 18 kills (8e, 39att). Fellow Wahine sophomore outside Kanani Danielson had 13 kills (7e, 40att, .150) and posted a double-double with 12 digs. Hawai'i senior middle Amber Kaufman added 12 kills (3e, 22att, .409) and had four blocks for the Wahine and senior Aneli Cubi-Otineru posted seven kills (4e, 25att, .120) with nine digs.

The Wahine had either led or been tied in the fifth set until the Bears took their first lead at 9-8 as Lloyd scored a point on a dump off of a pass from junior defensive specialist Meagan Schmitt. Cutura blasted a shot off the Wahine block to extend Cal's lead to 10-8 before Wiley put another kill in the books by going off Hawai'i blockers' hands. The Wahine stopped the short Cal run as Kaufman drove home a kill but Cutura continued to press as she crushed a big kill down the middle of the court unblocked. Ferrell claimed another point off a cut shot but two consecutive kills by Cutura set the Bears up with match point at 14-10. Hawai'i claimed one more point on a Cubi-Otineru kill. Cubi-Otineru went back to serve against a 14-11 deficit but her attempt fell helplessly to the ground after hitting the net to end the set, 15-11.

The Wahine claimed the first lead of the match and went ahead by three points as Kaufman put in a service ace. But the Bears stayed their course to catch Hawai'i at eight-all as Wiley and Cutura teamed up to block one of Kaufman's attacks. Cal went up by three points at 13-10 when Lloyd went up to block an attack by Ferrell. Kaufman's kill made the score 13-11 before a play in which sophomore middle hitter Shannon Hawari went down with a leg injury. Consecutive unforced errors by the Bears tied the set up at 13-all. The Bows took the lead once more at 15-14 off another Cal error but the Bears fought back to take the final lead of the set at 20-19. A Cutura kill followed by a block assist by Cutura and Brown and a service ace by sophomore defensive specialist Ashley Roe helped the Bears pull out to a 23-19 lead. Cutura bounced a kill shot to give Cal a 24-20 lead before bouncing one more kill off the ground to end the set, 25-21. The Bears brought home 16 kills in the first set (7e, 42att) to log a .214 attack percentage and held Hawai'i to a .118 rate with 11 kills on 34 attacks (7e).

The Bears took a 3-0 lead in the second set on Hawai'i errors but got three big plays on their side of the net to rip open a 6-1 lead. First Lloyd and Wiley teamed up to block Ferrell. Next Cutura got a kill as she blasted a shot high off Wahine hands and then Lloyd went up for another block of Ferrell, this time with Brown. Cal refused to let up as it never trailed in the second set. A 4-1 run gave the Bears a 14-9 lead as Wiley connected with Lloyd's back-set on a slide play. The Wahine climbed to within three points when Ferrell got a kill to make the score 16-13 but Cal answered back with another short burst to claim a six-point advantage at 20-14 when freshman opposite hitter Correy Johnson and Brown returned a Danielson attack. Danielson gave the Wahine their 16th point with her third kill of the night but the Bears seized set point with a kill by Wiley on a slide play. Freshman defensive specialist Robin Rostratter's service ace sealed the second set for Cal, 25-16. The Bears attacked at a .250 clip in the second with 12 kills (4e, 32att) and again held the Wahine attack at bay with a .054 attack rate (9k, 7e, 37att).

The third set saw nine ties before the Bears went ahead for just the second time at 10-9 when Cutura went lateral to get a back-row kill through the Hawai'i block. Two straight Wahine kills brought the set back into a tie at 11-all. The teams traded leads once more before Hawai'i jumped in front by three points at 15-12. Cal maintained striking distance until a kill by Cubi-Otineru and a Wahine block gave Hawai'i set point at 24-20. An errant attack by Murrey on the next play surrendered the third set to the Wahine, 25-20. Hawai'i improved its attack in the third set with a .333 rate and 14 kills (5e, 27) while the Bears slipped to .182 with 12 kills (6e, 33att).

Hawai'i recorded its first service ace of the fourth set to take a 4-3 lead and never looked back to take a 25-17 win. Trailing by just two points at 16-14, the Bears allowed Danielson to record three kills in four plays. A kill by Johnson gave Cal a slight respite from the Wahine attack but an unblocked attack by Kaufman turned into kill and a 20-16 Hawai'i lead. Ferrell came through with three straight kills to pull the Wahine out to a 23-16 lead before a Cutura kill stopped the bleeding if only momentarily. A Cal service error followed by a Hawai'i service ace sent the match to a fifth set. The Bears posted a .192 attack percentage in the fourth set with nine kills (4e, 26att) while the Wahine came up with a .367 percentage on 30 attacks (16k, 5e).

The Bears return home for their first match at Haas Pavilion as they host the Molten/Hilton Garden Inn Classic this weekend (Sept. 11-12). The tournament opens with Eastern Washington (3-3) taking on San Jose State (0-5) in a 1 p.m. match on Friday, Sept. 11. Eastern Washington will then face Cal later that evening, in a 7 p.m. match. Students with valid identification will receive chances to win prizes as a part of Student Appreciation Day. Please check CalBears.com for details and updates.

2009 Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team
Aneli Cubi-Otineru, OH, Hawai'i
Hana Cutura, OH, California
Ashley Engle, OPP/S, Texas (MVP)
Juliann Faucette, OH, Texas
Bridget Fonke, OH, Saint Louis
Destinee Hooker, OH, Texas
Mindi Wiley, MH, California