Perhaps all the kinks haven't been worked out.

Just as the No. 7 Cal volleyball team was gaining momentum heading into the postseason, the Bears faltered last Friday and lost to No. 8 Oregon, 3-1, at McArthur Court.

After compiling a 2-3 record to begin the second half of conference play, Cal (23-6, 13-5 Pac-10) had reeled off three straight victories before its battle with the Ducks (23-8, 11-7).

But Oregon refused to allow the Bears to put a damper on its Senior Night.

The Ducks capitalized on Cal's inconsistency throughout the match and fought off a late comeback in the fourth set to win by the score of 25-20, 25-27, 25-17, 26-24.

Senior Gorana Maricic led the way for Oregon as she put down a game-high 20 kills to go along with 12 digs.

The Ducks' outside hitters combined for an attack percentage of .203. In comparison, the Bears' top three outside hitters in Hana Cutura, Am'ra Solomon and Tarah Murrey hit for a percentage of .109. Both players and coaches agreed that passing was a key factor for the offensive woes in the match.

"In sets one and two, our passing broke down completely," Cal libero Kristen Kathan said. "I don't know how many times Carli (Lloyd) was in system, but we didn't get to run our middles as much and it put pressure on our pin hitters. When that happens, it's a field day for the other team's blockers."

Oregon had 12 blocks in the match and stymied the Bears' offense into another below-average performance. Only freshman Shannon Hawari and junior Mindi Wiley hit at .250 or above.

In addition to the hitting issues, Cal committed 10 service errors.

"The problem is we know how to fix our errors and it's not happening," Wiley said. "You think it's ironed out, but something isn't clicking for us right now, so we've got to figure it out before it's too late."

Still, this late slip hardly affected the Bears' standing in the eyes of the NCAA tournament selection committee.

On Sunday, it was announced that Cal will be the eighth seed overall in this year's tournament, and a No. 2 seed in the Penn State regional. The defending national champion Nittany Lions were tabbed the overall No. 1 after not dropping a single game during the regular season.

By virtue of being a second seed, the Bears will host their opening-round match against Siena at Haas Pavilion.

Cal coach Rich Feller said his team will be starting back from scratch this week in preparation for the postseason and will treat the next few weeks as an entirely new season.

"We're going to go back to what we did at the beginning of the season," Feller said. "We're not going to take anything for granted. (The coaches) have just got to keep instructing, keep seeking leadership, and urging them to respond."

Monday marks the beginning of a new chapter in which the Bears hope to add more accolades to this already historic season.

"I believe we have both the mental and physical capabilities, but it's going to take a lot of hard work starting Monday," Kathan said. "I've never doubted this team at all this season and I'm not going to start now."

Tags: RICH FELLER, HANA CUTURA, CAL VOLLEYBALL, CARLI LLOYD