Sept. 26, 2003

Box Score

BERKELEY, CA - In what would have to be considered one of the biggest wins in Cal volleyball history, the No. 11 ranked Golden Bears (12-0, 4-0) defeated previously unbeaten and No. 13 ranked Washington (11-1, 2-1), 3-1 (25-30, 30-22, 30-21, 30-25) Friday evening at Haas Pavilion. The match featured two of the nation's four undefeated teams ranked in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll as both Cal and the Huskies entered the contest 11-0 overall.

The Bears prevailed behind an outstanding match from junior All-American Mia Jerkov, who recorded 30 kills and a team-high 10 digs. It was the eighth time in Jerkov's college career that she had recorded 30 or more kills in a match. Cal was also led by junior outside hitter Gabrielle Abernathy's 17 kills and two service aces. Several other Bears played well. Freshman setter Samantha Carter had a career-high 67 assists and junior middle hitter Camille Leffall had 11 kills with no errors in 19 attempts for a team-high .579 hitting percentage.

As a team, Cal out-hit Washington, .359-.216. The Huskies were led by Sanja Tomasevic's 19 kills. The win over the Huskies also puts the Bears alone in first place in the Pac-10 standings.

"This is a great accomplishment to be able to play this well against a team that was considered equal to us," said Bear coach Rich Feller, who has led Cal to its best start in school history. "Our team plays with such a positive attitude. We were able to make adjustments after the first game and then did a great job of executing. This was a huge win for us. To play at that high of a level for the entire length of the match is very impressive."

The Bears will next travel to Arizona State, Friday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, and Arizona, Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. at McKale Center in Tucson.