BERKELEY – The volleyball court is usually the happiest place on earth for Cal middle blocker Jenelle Jordan. …OK, pretty much anywhere is.

But there was extra reason for the spirited junior to get excited Sunday.

Jordan matched her career high with eight blocks while also pitching in with eight kills as the Cal volleyball team swept Washington State, 28-26, 25-19, 26-24 at Haas Pavilion.

“I was especially excited because I was working on my blocking a lot last week in practice,” Jordan said. “It's something the coaches have been talking to me about a lot. For it to show up in a game is huge for me.”

Senior middle blocker Lillian Schonewise led the Bears (8-13, 2-8 Pac-12) with 13 kills at a .333 hitting percentage, while also contributing four blocks of her own. Freshman Belen Castillo added 10 kills and three blocks while junior libero Maddy Kerr registered 15 digs. Cal has now won two of its past three matches.

The Bears have struggled to finish off close sets this season, but Sunday they were able to make the plays to polish off two narrow sets against the Cougars. Cal had a 24-22 lead in the first set but Washington State came back to force extra time. After trading points back and forth, Castillo put down back-to-back kills to give the Bears the win.

The Cougars were within 21-19 in the second set before the Bears scored the final four points to close it out. Jordan had a kill and a block during the late run while sophomore Antzela Dempi also put down a kill to help Cal take a commanding lead in the match.

With the scored tied 21-21 in the third set, Jordan and senior Nikki Gombar registered a block and junior defensive specialist Sabrina Blackwell followed with an ace. The Cougars once again staved off a 24-22 deficit to tie it at 24-24, but kills by Schonewise and Gombar closed it out.

“I feel like we've all learned from all of our past experiences,” Jordan said. “We stayed composed when they came back. We didn't rush it. We knew we had to stay composed through the set when they caught up to us.”

Sophomore outside hitter Christine Alftin added nine kills and seven digs for Cal while junior setter Alyssa Jensen had 42 assists.

Cal's four-match homestand continues Thursday when the Bears open the second half of Pac-12 play with a match against No. 13 Arizona State at Haas Pavilion at 7 p.m.

“This win is going to give us energy,” Jordan said. “We are going to get back to practice and work on the things we need to work on. We know we have to play at the top of our game to win.”