10:43 p.m.: Final: Penn State 3, Cal 0 Turns out there’s a reason that Penn State hasn’t dropped a game in the tournament. Question about the legitimacy of a non-Pac-10 team in the final four is very, very unfounded. The Nittany Lions were overpowering from start to finish, holding Cal to a .121 hitting percentage. Hana Cutura hit -.065, and the Bears were outblocked 14.5-4.0, an astounding number with the way that they’ve dominated the net throughout the season. The Nittany Lions put the exclamation point on with a 30-16 win in game three.

Seniors Ellen Orchard and Angie Pressey held back tears as the Bears gathered around for one final huddle after the match. They have both had amazing careers at Cal and will be remembered long after they have left. Final: 3-0 (30-28, 30-25, 30-16).

10:32 p.m.: Penn State 19, Cal 10 Coach Feller takes his second timeout of the game as Penn State is not letting up and trying to close this match out in three. The Nittany Lions bench looks way too happy.

10:24 p.m.: Penn State 10, Cal 6 Angie Pressey looks especially frustrated. Penn State blocked the Cal outside hitter to take a 3-2 lead, and two attack errors by Pressey made the score 10-6 in favor of the Nittany Lions. She’s had to hit into two and three blockers, and it sure seems like Penn State has figured out where Carli Lloyd’s sets are going.

With Pressey and Hana Cutura struggling, the Bears have yet to come up with a formidable third option. Ellen Orchard? She’s too busy on the block. Morgan Beck? She just got stuffed.

10:17 p.m.: Halftime Cal is down 2-0 at halftime after dropping the first and second games 30-28 and 30-25. Coach Feller is doing an ESPN interview as his team heads off the court. Wonder what he could be saying.
Interviewer: So Coach, with your team down 2-0 at the half, what adjustments can you guys make at halftime?
Coach Feller: Well, Penn State is a very good team, and they’re a very tall team. I’m not entirely sure what the rules are on platform Nike’s in the final four, but if we could grow a couple inches each on the front line, I think it would really help our chances against those scary-tall blockers and attacks that look like they’re dropping from the hanging scoreboard.
Interviewer: Okay but seriously.
Coach Feller: Seriously, we’re going to need an answer quickly because right now we’re getting beat at our game. Penn State is outblocking us 10.0 to 4.0 as a team and hitting .384 on us. When Nicole Fawcett or Megan Hodge have been set anywhere in the vicinity of the net, they’ve been deadly. And we’ve had to take Hana Cutura out at all the wrong times because she’s being targeted with the Nittany Lions’ serve. We’re going to have to step it up.
Interviewer: Good luck in the second half, Coach.
Coach Feller: We don’t really play halves, but thanks.

In other news, Penn State’s band has stolen the Bears’ “Everybody’s Everything” song, but they don’t do the trombone thing, so it’s cool. Second half coming up.

9:56 p.m.: Penn State 23, Cal 17 Yes, we know. You are Penn State. And you are giving the Bears a lot of trouble. Your cheerleaders might be annoying, but the Bears are probably more annoyed by freshman Arielle Wilson and sophomore Megan Hodge, who have seen their attacks land all over Cal territory.

The Bears need an answer, and quick.

9:46 p.m.: Penn State 8, Cal 3 Penn State is simply overpowering the Bears right now, as Cal has taken its first timeout. The Bears’ three points so far have come on two Nittany Lions service errors and a double-touch. Cutura is struggling with the Nittany Lions blockers, and Penn State is targeting her on serve when she plays the back line.

9:37 p.m.: Cal Down 1-0. The Bears dropped the first game, 30-28, after two straight points by Penn State. With the score tied 28-28, Blair Brown notched a kill and then blocked Cal outside hitter Cutura to seal the game. Senior Angie Pressey had five kills in the stanza, but the Bears were outhit .350 to .262. Nittany Lion Arielle Wilson had four kills and no errors.

If Penn State keeps up its powerful attack, it’s gonna be a long night for the Bears.

9:30 p.m.: Penn State 23, Cal 18 Rich Feller has just taken his first timeout with his team down by three. Penn State’s size is definitely coming into play here. Angie Pressey has been straight-up blocked twice and Hana Cutura once by this Nittany Lions block. Cutura just tried to hit over Penn State and pushed it about three feet long. Cal hasn’t led since 1-0.

9:18 p.m.: Game 1 Update. Cal is down 14-13 in the first game against Penn State. The Bears fell down as far as 8-4 early, but service aces by seniors Angie Pressey and Ellen Orchard gave them a short rally. Kristen Kathen to serve.

8:52 p.m.: Still Pregame, Pt. 2. There are just under five minutes until the match begins, and the Cal volleyball team just left the court after its attacking drills. Freshman setter Carli Lloyd, who anchors the drill, is just 41 assists away from breaking the school record for assists in a season.

If she keeps up her pace of 12.84 assists per game, she can get the record in four games. Maybe it’ll take her until Saturday’s final — if the Bears make it there, that is.

8:34 p.m.: Still Pregame. Hey fans of Cal volleyball and those of you who have stumbled upon this blog by mistake. This is Jeff Goodman and Matt Kawahara, your Daily Cal volleyball beat writers, and we’ll be keeping you up to date on the action from the glorious venue that is Arco Arena tonight as the Bears take on No. 1 Penn State in the National Semifinals.

Not trying to jump the gun here, but a possible Cal-Stanford title game is still in order as the Cardinal edged USC by the slightest of margins just a minute ago. Cynthia Barboza’s attack was blocked out of bounds to give Stanford a 16-14 win in the fifth and final game of a 3-2 win.

Yes, the Stanford band was here. Yes, they played All Right Now.

Cal and Penn State are warming up.

7:52 p.m.: Pregame. Hello from Sacramento, Cal sports fans. Not many Cal fans have been to a final four lately, unless those same Cal fans have been following the men’s water polo team or Bears rugby.

It’s the first time that the Cal volleyball team has ventured out this far in the NCAA tournament, but the team always had that belief that they would be here. Actually, before every game in this year’s tourney, the Bears have chanted “Going, going, back to, back to, Cali, Cali.”

Well, they’re back. We’ll see how they fare against Penn State, who hasn’t dropped a single game in this year’s tournament.

For more blogs from the NCAA, you can check out http://www.ncaasports.com/blogs/blogindex

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