Cal goes 2-2 against tough competition in Baton Rouge

No. 6 Cal beach volleyball split its matches at the Death Volley Invitational in Baton Rouge last weekend, where the Bears faced four top-20 ranked teams. 

Cal fell to No. 5 Florida State University during its first match Friday with a close 2-3 score. The Seminoles have a 20-5 overall record.The Bears ended FSU’s 14-game winning streak earlier this season March 15, beating the Seminoles 4-1. This time, Cal battled to three sets in two of its matchups but couldn’t deliver the wins.

Senior Sierra Caffo and graduate student Kendall Peters pulled out a 26-24 win after losing their first set, before falling 15-8 in the decisive third. Graduate student Lara Boos and sophomore Jenna Colligan held the Seminoles to tight scores throughout their match, losing the first and third sets 21-18 and 15-13, but taking the second set 31-29. 

Sophomore Marilu Pally and junior Alex Young-Gomez swept FSU 21-16, 22-20, a victory that marked Young-Gomez’s 50th career win. 

“The most gratifying part was getting to test ourselves against some of the best teams in the country,” said head coach Meagan Owusu. “We knew going into it that it was going to be a lot of very close battles, and that turned out to be true. I’m proud of the team and how we held ourselves in those moments. Regardless of the outcome, we got better each and every duel.”

After their defeat to Florida State, the Bears exacted revenge over No. 10 LSU, a team that beat Cal during the East Meets West Tournament in March.This was Cal’s first win over LSU in program history and its third 4-1 victory over a ranked team this season. 

Freshman Emma Donley and sophomore Gia Fisher were paired up for the first time ever this tournament in the 2s spot and beat LSU 21-19, 21-15. Boos and Colligan also swept the Tigers 21-16, 21-18. Boos, who transferred from LSU this season, earned AVCA Top Flight status her senior year and won 38 matches from 2021-2023.

“Each and every match with top-10 opponents is going to be a dogfight.” Owusu said. “We knew that we have the potential to beat them, and it was nice to see our athletes play to our ability that we knew we could.”

The Bears then dominated No. 17 Florida Atlantic on Saturday, giving Cal its second 4-1 triumph of the weekend.

The Bears’ 3s, 4s and 5s pairings each swept the Owls and won each set by at least four points. Caffo and Peters defeated FAU in three sets, giving the duo their first victory of the tournament. 

Finally, Cal ended the weekend with a 2-3 loss to No. 4 TCU. Boos and Colligan swept their opponents 21-16, 21-17, and Pally and Young-Gomez took the Bears’ second win, 21-18, 21-19.The pair had only played as a team once before. They went undefeated this tournament, finishing 8-for-8 on sets. 

“We pride our program in being adaptable and resilient,” Owusu said. “When we make partner switches, one of our strengths is being able to just adjust to that situation, and Marilu and Alex did just that.”

The Bears, now 15-7 on the season, will travel to Seattle to face Arizona, UCLA, USC and Washington at the Pac-12 North Tournament this weekend. 

“Every team in the Pac-12 is strong this year,” Owusu said. “Just like last weekend, we have four battles coming up where we have to be ready to compete at the highest level and expect a great match.”