It can’t get much worse for the Oregon volleyball team.
Despite a 10-point lead in game three, the Ducks lost a four-game (30-21, 27-30, 30-28, 30-22) heartbreaker to California on Thursday.
Tied 1-1 in the match and leading 21-14 late into the third game, the Ducks (8-15 overall, 0-12 Pacific-10 Conference) stood confident in their ability to gain a second-game win for the first time in Pac-10 play. But the Golden Bears (8-12, 3-9) had a different idea of what was going to happen.
Consecutive kills by California junior Reena Pardiwala gave the Bears what would be an immense boost of confidence, and the mentality that they could come back. The two points would be the first in what became a seven-point run, enough to put them one point behind the Ducks.
A kill by Oregon junior Stephanie Martin ended the run, and a California error gave the Ducks breathing room at 23-20, but it was short-lived. Nine points later, the Golden Bears caught up to the Oregon women, with the game tied at 26.
Tied at 27, junior Lindsay Closs emphatically put the Ducks back on top, but that would be the last point Oregon would win in the game. A service error by Closs and two service aces by Cal sophomore Gabrielle Abernathy put the Ducks away for good.
Oregon head coach Carl Ferreira said game three was not the best Oregon had played this season, but he was visually perturbed by the team’s play.
“We almost played not to win,” he said. “That was probably the biggest disappointment. We just didn’t finish.”

Closs led the Ducks’ offensive output in the third game, leading the team with five kills. Senior Monique Tobbagi played strong in the game, backing up Closs’ five kills with four of her own. However, it wasn’t enough to get the Ducks ahead on the scoreboard.
The Golden Bears’ uncanny knack to return the Ducks’ attacks also helped keep Cal in the game. At least four times the Ducks seemed to have a point, only to have Cal’s resiliency stare them in the face and come through. The Ducks were the imposing team in the beginning, but not in the end.
“I thought the beginning of game three was going to be the determining factor for the match,” Ferreira said. “The beginning of game three was exactly what we wanted in terms of increasing our play to the point of giving yourself a chance to succeed. (But) little things make big differences, and that one definitely got away from us.”
Game two was the one the Ducks did win. But it wasn’t in the grandest manner.
After matching points until the Bears took the lead at 16-15, Oregon hung around and pestered Cal with some resiliency of their own. After catching up to the Bears and tying the game at 26, Martin showed her true colors and pushed Cal in the corner with two big kills. Her fifth kill of the match proved to be the back breaker, and gave the Ducks a three-point win.
But Ferreira wasn’t particularly pleased with the team’s play, especially after their poor start in game one.
“We didn’t start out at the same level that we did on our Washington trip,” he said. “I thought we had a grovel win in game two. We hung in there and hung in there and found a way to win.”
The Ducks were no match for Cal in game four, losing 30-22 and ending the night with their 14th loss in a row.
Tobbagi led the Ducks on the night with 20 kills and 13 digs. Martin and Closs contributed with 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Also looking strong for the Ducks was senior Julie Gerlach, who posted nine kills and 40 assists, and freshman Lauren Westendorf, with five kills of her own.
The Ducks take on No. 4 Stanford tonight at 8 p.m. The match follows women’s basketball in a doubleheader at McArthur Court.