Oregon State
California
Volleyball Drops Five-Game Match At Cal
October 03, 1999 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 2, 1999
BERKELEY, Calif. - For the sixth year in a row, the Oregon State volleyball team's visit to Berkeley was a long one.
Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the match, the Beavers were forced to battle it out in a grueling five-game contest as host California found a way back in the match. The Golden Bears ended up winning the final three games of what has become an annual marathon between the two teams down at Cal.
OSU and Cal have played five games in Berkeley for the last six years, and Cal has come out on top in five of them. Game scores this time out were 5-15, 11-15, 16-14, 15-9 and 10-15.
"This team has got to learn to win," said coach Nancy Somera. "They aren't going to beat anybody when they begin to play afraid to make mistakes."
The Beavers (7-7, 1-5) had little trouble in the opening game, cruising to an 8-0 lead before Cal managed to put a point on the scoreboard. OSU hit .270 in the opening contest while Cal (7-6, 3-2) had just seven kills but also had seven errors.
OSU maintained its momentum at the start of the second game and built an 12-3 advantage before letting Cal get back into the game. After a series of 14 consecutive sideouts, the Golden Bears strung together a three-point rally and edged back within four points at 13-9. Cal later added a couple more points, but the Beavers eventually put the game away.
But after that, the Beavers fell apart.
Cal took a 13-4 lead in game three to appear that the Golden Bears would easily end OSU's hopes of capturing its first-ever sweep in Berkeley. But the Beavers took advantage of several Cal mistakes to slowly inch their way back into the game. OSU went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 13-13, and six of those points were scored off Cal hitting errors. Game three was tied again at 14-14 before the Golden Bears put the game away with back-to-back kills.
OSU's offense struggled in the final two games. The Beavers hit .071 in the fourth game, and they had only five kills and a mere .056 hitting percentage in the decisive fifth game. Cal, on the other hand, turned in its best hitting effort of the night with a .292 hitting percentage in game five.
The Beavers turned in 66 kills but hit just .174 for the night, however, Cal turned in a .132 team hitting effort as neither team had an impressive offensive night. OSU outdug Cal, 84-82, and won the blocking battle, 18-15.
Angie Shirley led OSU with 20 kills, and Gina Schmidt added 21 digs. Michele Solomon hit .412 with nine kills and a career-high 10 blocks.
Match Results
Oregon State (7-7, 1-5) 15 15 14 9 10 California (7-6, 3-2) 5 11 16 15 15
