Oct. 15, 2011

Final Stats

BERKELEY - The No. 4 California volleyball team continued its roll with a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-19, 25-18) of Washington State on Saturday night at Haas Pavilion, where the Golden Bears remain flawless.

Cal closes the first half of Pac-12 play with a 9-2 conference record, going 19-2 overall. The Cougars - who were swept in each of their matches this weekend - fall to 11-9 overall and 3-7 in the Pac-12.

After falling behind in set one, 6-2, the Bears rattled off seven kills and then capitalized on six Cougar errors to notch the 25-22 victory. Cal easily surpassed its .243 first-set outing by hitting .379 in set two en route to the 25-19 win. Eight unanswered points helped secure a 21-11 lead for the Bears in set three, leaving no possibility for a Cougar comeback.

The Bears out hit the Cougars, .309-.074, keeping them a perfect 19-0 when out hitting their opponents. Cal handily out blocked Washington State, 11-5, with Kat Brown, Correy Johnson and Lillian Schonewise putting up three blocks apiece.

Overall, Correy Johnson paced the Bears by hitting .538 with eight kills in 13 swings. Tarah Murrey led the Bears in kills for the 16th match of the year with 12 (2e, 26att, .385). Shannon Hawari and Christina Higgins each chipped in six kills while Lillian Schonewise contributed five.

In addition to her 12 kills, Murrey also made 12 digs for a double-double - her eighth consecutive and 11th overall.

Elly Barrett put up 39 assists and Lindsey Parrott had two, coming in to play in set three. Robin Rostratter led the Bears with 15 digs.

Washington State's Meagan Ganzer - who ranks top in the Pac-12 and fourth in the nation in kills per set - had nine kills in the first set before the Bears' defense clamped down to hold her to only three kills in sets two and three combined.

Set One - Cal 25, WSU 22:

The Cougars opened the match on a 6-2 run with both of Cal's points coming courtesy Tarah Murrey kills. Once Washington State reached a 7-3 plateau, the Bears began to right the ship with kills from Christina Higgins and Kat Brown. Cal then proceeded to go on an 8-1 run to take the lead and pull ahead for good. The Cougars clawed their way to as few as a three-point deficit at 13-10 and 14-11, but the Bears steadily maintained their distance. Elly Barrett had a dump to bring the score to 17-13 and then a solo block to put Cal up, 20-16. The Cougars tied things at 21-21, but a kill by Murrey and a block by Shannon Hawari and Correy Johnson distanced the Bears ever so slightly at 23-21. A solo block by Murrey and an attack error by Meagan Ganzer gave Cal its final two points of the set.

Set Two - Cal 25, WSU 19:

Mirroring the first set, the Cougars opened the second stanza with a lead, though it was much more short lived. Two Correy Johnson kills, a Robin Rostratter ace and two WSU errors handed the Bears a 5-2 lead. The Cougars tied things at six all, but a 4-1 run by the Bears returned the lead to Cal. Coming within one point at 11-10 was as close as the Cougars would come, at which point Lillian Schonewise laced a kill and then went up for the block with Lauren Loerch, distancing the Bears 13-10. Cal led by as many as seven at 20-13 and 21-14. Loerch gave Cal some breathing room with a kill off a Rostratter bump. Schonewise put down her second kill of the night for set point.

Set Three - Cal 25, WSU 18:

After the Cougars tied the set at 2-2, the Bears gradually built their lead. Kills by Higgins, Johnson and Murrey bolstered a 7-3 Cal run to push the Bears ahead, 14-9. A let serve ace by Correy Johnson upped the Bears' advantage to 19-11. After Cal had dished off eight unanswered points to pull ahead 21-11, the Cougars returned the favor with a 7-0 run with the Bears just three points away from the set and match victory. Schonewise and Lindsey Parrott teamed for a block to thwart the Cougar run and bring the score to 23-18. A WSU attack error followed by a Higgins and Brown block ended the set and match.

What's Next:

The Bears begin their second round of Pac-12 play with a trip to the desert. First up, Cal takes on Arizona State in Tempe with a 7 p.m. tilt on Oct. 21. The trip concludes with an Oct. 22 match at Arizona in Tucson. In the first outings against the Arizona schools, the Bears earned a 3-0 victory over the Wildcats and a 3-1 win versus the Sun Devils.