Oct. 3, 2009

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LOS ANGELES - The No. 9-ranked California volleyball team (8-5, 1-2 Pac-10) fell in a four-set decision (25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22) to No. 16 UCLA (12-5, 2-2 Pac-10) tonight (Oct. 3) at Pauley Pavilion. The Golden Bears were led by senior outside hitter Hana Cutura's 17 kills (7e, 52att, .192). Sophomore outside hitter Tarah Murrey had 14 kills (4e, 31att, .323) and added eight digs and a career-high five total blocks, four of them solo.

Senior libero Kristen Kathan led all players with 18 digs and moved ahead of Holly McPeak (1987-89) into fifth place for all-time career digs at Cal with 1,199. Senior outside hitter Mindi Wiley had another strong night with 13 kills (2e, 20att, .550) and three blocks. Junior setter Carli Lloyd posted her fourth double-double of the season with 47 assists and 10 digs. The Bears attacked at a .252 rate in the match with 55 kills (20e, 139att) and stayed in front of a UCLA attack that posted a .240 percentage (58k, 23e, 146att).

UCLA freshman outside hitter Bojana Todorovic had a career-high 14 kills (4e, 29att, .345) to lead the Bruins as she logged a double-double with 13 digs. Bruin senior outside Kaitlin Sather logged 13 kills (5e, 33att, .242) and added 16 digs in the 3-1 win.

Cal went ahead by two points in the fourth set with a 10-8 lead but UCLA responded with a six-point run to lead 14-10 before Cutura blasted a shot cross-court to stop the bleeding. The Bears drew to within two points at 15-13 when Murrey claimed a kill off the UCLA block but the Bruins went up by six points at 19-13 when one of Murrey's attacks went wide. Undeterred, Cal continued to press and came within two points of UCLA at 24-22 as Murrey put a shot off the Bruin block but it wasn't enough as UCLA junior outside hitter Dicey McGraw came up with the final point of the match to give the Bruins a 25-22 win in the fourth set. The Bears posted a .235 attack percentage in the fourth set (13k, 5e, 34 att) and UCLA attacked at a .220 rate (16k, 7e, 41att).

UCLA claimed the first point of the match and ran up a five-point lead at 16-11 as freshman setter Lauren Cook served up an ace to force a Cal timeout. The Bears returned to the court and drew within three points at 17-14 with two kills and a service ace by Cutura. Hurt by a couple of service errors, Cal fell behind by five points at 22-17 as UCLA earned a kill off a broken play. The Bears got three more kills from freshman opposite hitter Correy Johnson but couldn't hold off the Bruins who claimed the first set, 25-20. Cal logged a .414 attack percentage with 15 kills (3e, 29att) and stayed in front of UCLA's .370 rate (14k, 4e, 27att) but committed five service errors and two receiving errors to fall behind one set to none.

The teams blew threw four ties before UCLA blasted two overplayed passes to the floor to snag a 6-4 lead. The Bruins held their distance until they were able to pull out to a four-point advantage at 21-17 following two Cal errors. Sophomore middle blocker Amanda Gil gave UCLA set point at 24-18 as she served up an ace. Murrey and Wiley teamed up to put the block on UCLA's Katie Camp to get the Bears one more point but a Todorovic kill ended any chances of a Cal comeback and put the Bruins up, 2-0. UCLA earned sideout 89 percent of the time in the second set and attacked at a .237 rate with 16 kills (7e, 38att). The Bears logged a .156 rate on 32 attacks (10k, 5e).

The Bruins seized control of the third set at the outset but the Bears fought back to earn a 6-4 lead before UCLA took a three-point lead at 11-8 as a Cutura attack went wide. Cal maintained its distance until Johnson's kill tied the score for the fifth time at 14-all. Murrey's kill down the line gave the Bears a 15-14 lead before the Bruins called a timeout. During the timeout, power in Pauley Pavilion went out forcing an extended stoppage in play. After a 20-minute delay, play resumed and the teams continued to trade barbs until the Bears earned a four-point lead at 21-17 on a Wiley kill. The Bears went up 23-19 as Johnson connected with Lloyd on a slide play but UCLA replied with three straight points to force a Cal timeout. Cutura gave the Bears set point with a kill as Cal returned to the court before Murrey put things away with a solo block of Camp. The Bears put down 17 kills in the third (7e, 44att, .227) and held UCLA to a .175 attack percentage on 40 attacks (12k, 5e).

The Bears return home for matches against Washington (Friday, Oct. 9) and Washington State (Saturday, Oct. 10). The match against the Cougars will be broadcast live by Comcast SportsNet California. Please check your local listings for times and availability.