California’s women’s volleyball team ended its participation in the Mustang Invitational with a straight-set loss to San Jose State on Saturday at Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo. The Golden Bears were defeated 25-17, 25-15, 25-20, marking their second consecutive loss and bringing their season record to 3-4. San Jose State improved to 3-3.
Senior Mikayla Hayden led both teams with 11 kills for the second match in a row, bringing her total of double-digit kill performances this season to five. Senior Natalie Lau recorded 18 assists, tying for the match high. Junior Sophia Johnson and freshman Francesca Popescu each contributed eight digs.
California struggled with service errors for the second consecutive match, recording 10 errors against just one ace. Their only block came in the third set from Hayden and Lau.
San Jose State took control early with a .387 hitting efficiency in the first set, while California relied mainly on Hayden’s five kills. In the second set, Cal was limited to a .053 hitting percentage as San Jose State extended its lead by ten points before clinching a two-set advantage. In the third set, Cal’s defense improved and redshirt freshman Grace Agolli tallied five kills—including three consecutive points—but five service errors hindered any comeback attempt as San Jose State closed out the sweep.
The Golden Bears will return home next week to host UC Davis on Wednesday at 7 p.m., then travel to Los Angeles for matches against LSU on Saturday and No. 16 USC on Sunday.
“Senior Mikayla Hayden posted 11 kills for the second-straight match, leading both teams and raising her season total of double-digit kill performances to five.”
“Classmate Natalie Lau posted 18 assists, tied for a match high, while junior Sophia Johnson and freshman Francesca Popescu each collected eight digs.”
“For the second-straight outing, Cal reached double digits on service errors, recording 10 on the day to just one ace.”
“Their lone block came in the third set, off the hands of Hayden and Lau.”
“San Jose State’s offense dominated in the first set with a .387 hitting efficiency, while Cal’s offense mainly relied on the efforts of Hayden and her five kills.”
“The Bears struggled to find their footing the second set as the Spartans held them to just .053 hitting and one late three-point run before eventually stretching their lead out to 10 points to clinch a 2-0 advantage.”
“Cal’s defense tightened up in the third, holding San Jose State’s offense to an efficiency of .152 while redshirt freshman Grace Agolli posted five kills (including three straight) for the Bears.”
“It was ultimately Cal’s five third-set service errors that sealed the deal as San Jose State won by five, posting a kill and an ace to clinch the sweep.”
The team will look ahead as it prepares for its final week of nonconference play.
