No. 13 Golden Bears Clip Eagles in 3-0 Sweep

The California volleyball team claimed its first home victory with a three-set win over Eastern Washington

Sept. 11, 2009

BERKELEY - The No. 13-ranked California volleyball team (4-3) swept Eastern Washington (4-5) in three sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-20) today (Sept. 11) in its first home match of the season in the Molten/Hilton Garden Inn Classic at Haas Pavilion. The Golden Bears were led by senior middle hitter Mindi Wiley, who posted 12 kills (1e, 16att) with a .688 attack percentage and four blocks. Senior outside hitter Hana Cutura tied for match-high honors in kills with 13 (6e, 36att).

Several Cal freshmen saw action for the first time against the Eagles including middle hitter Tia Gaffen, who started the match. Gaffen finished with 6 kills (1e, 11att) and logged at .455 attack rate. Outside hitter Mary Buckingham also got in the match for a stretch of nine points in the first set and setter Elly Barrett came in for several plays in the second set. Already playing her seventh match, freshman middle hitter Correy Johnson came up with 6 kills (2e, 14att, .286) and a solo block. Junior setter Carli Lloyd led the team with 33 assists and added four kills (0e, 9att, .444), eight digs and three blocks to her final stat line.

Senior outside hitter Hayley Hills led the Eagles with 13 kills (4e, 31att, .290) and senior setter Ashley Hamilton added seven kills (0e, 8att, .875) to go along with her team-high 25 assists.

Cal used an impressive 13-2 run to close out the third set and the match. After being down 18-12, the Bears climbed back into the match off of a kill by Cutura and two Eastern errors. An Eagle kill stopped the bleeding but only momentarily as senior libero Kristen Kathan served up nine straight points for the Bears. Two kills by Lloyd, three straight blocks and two kills by Wiley set the Bears up with a 24-19 advantage. After one last gasp from Eastern Washington, sophomore outside hitter Tarah Murrey blasted a kill out of the back row to give the Bears the victory. Cal posted 16 kills in the final set (5e, 32att, .344) and held the Eagles to a .200 attack percentage with 13 kills (7e, 30att).

The Bears opened up with a 4-0 lead in the match as they got two kills from Cutura and a kill by Lloyd on a dump. The Eagles pulled into a five-all tie on a kill by Hills but the Bears took command once again to go up 9-7 on a Wiley kill. The Eagles flew high to tie the match at nine-all before going off on a run that gave them a 19-12 lead at one point. The Bears chipped away at the lead until Wiley and Murrey teamed up for a block to knot the set at 21-all. Eastern took one more lead at 22-21 but the Bears stormed back to close the set with two kills by Cutura and a big solo block by Lloyd. The Bears attacked at a .200 rate in the opening set, getting 16 kills (8e, 40att) and matched the Eagle attack which had 14 kills (6e, .200).

Eastern Washington took the first points of the second set but the Bears responded to walk away with a 25-19 win after getting out to an 8-5 lead when Lloyd set a high ball to Murrey on the outside. Cal created a six-point gash to lead 18-12 when Lloyd set Wiley up with a back-set on a slide play to get a kill down the line. The Eagles made a short run but the Bears responded to get two straight kills by Cutura for a 22-18 lead. An Eastern service error gave the Bears set point before one final Eagle error by Hills sealed the win for Cal. The Bears posted a match-high .464 attack rate in the second set with 14 kills (1e, 28att). The Eagles came away with a .200 attack rate with 11 kills (7e, 29att).

The Bears conclude the tournament with a 6 p.m. match against San Jose State (0-7) tomorrow (Sept. 12) at Haas Pavilion. Fans with ticket stubs from the Cal versus Eastern Washington football game will receive free admission to the match.