Outside of its 3–0 sweep of Virginia, Boston College volleyball is 0–4 in conference play and has only won one of those 12 sets. 

With only ACC teams remaining, it’s crucial BC racks up as many conference wins as possible in order for its team’s mental aptitude to stay intact. 

After a loss to No. 6 Stanford, California (5–11, 2–4 Atlantic Coast) was meant to be a refresher, and the Eagles (13–5, 2–4) took advantage of that, dominating in a 3–1 win over the Golden Bears on Sunday afternoon. 

BC wouldn’t want to get too complacent, though, as they were battle-tested early on—its 14–11 lead in the opening set was the largest lead from either team the whole set. 

Sam Hoppes recorded five kills as a part of BC’s first 15 points, which also included four service aces from three different Eagles. 

Cal would not take its lead back until it went up 21–20, following a lengthy sequence of tying the match just for BC to answer right back and remain one point ahead. 

Kills from Hoppes and Layne put the Eagles one point from a set one victory, but a four-point rally gave Cal the advantage as the game had to be decided by two points. Three straight points, including two back-to-back kills by Audrey Ross gave BC a 27–25 nail-biting win. 

Set two followed a similar theme, but Cal got the last laugh instead.

BC’s began with earning its first five points all off kills and jumped to a 10–7 lead after back-to-back aces. 

Cal played from behind for most of the set—the Golden Bears had only one lead after BC went up 10–7, but that was until they eventually jumped ahead 23–22. A kill from Cal’s Dominique Phills and a bad set from Ross tied the game at 1–1 after a 25–22 win. 

Three-straight kills to open up the third set quickly set the tone for Cal as both teams sought the commanding 2–1 lead. 

Ross rattled off three kills of her own to tie the set at 4–4, and a six-point rally after falling to a deficit of 11–6 gave the Eagles a one-point lead at the halfway point. 

BC would refuse to lose the lead from there, winning set three 25–21 behind three more kills from Ross and Hoppes in that span. 

Set four was the cherry on top for the Eagles, as they cruised to a 25–11 victory. 

Cal probably would’ve liked to have the 6–6 tie back early in the fourth set, as BC went on a 19–5 run to cap off its 3–1 win.