BERKELEY – The Cal volleyball team was in position to win three of four sets Friday but ultimately dropped a hard-fought 25-21, 27-29, 25-15, 25-23 match at No. 19 USC at the Galen Center.

Cal was within one or two points late in three of the sets but was only able to pull one of them out. The Bears (11-7, 2-5 Pac-12) trailed just 22-20 in the first set before the Trojans put things away. In the second set, Cal staved off four USC set points before finally coming back to even the match behind freshman Mima Mirkovic, who had the Bears' final four kills of the set.

After dropping a lopsided third set, Cal overcame an early deficit in the fourth to make it close at the end. The Trojans raced out to a 13-6 lead but the Bears gradually sliced into the deficit, cutting it to 21-19. With USC leading 23-20, a kill by junior Carmen Annevelink and a Trojans hitting error cut it to 23-22. After calling timeout, USC reached match point before Annevelink put down another kill to cut it to 24-23. But the Trojans were finally able to polish off the match.

"In order to win on the road in the Pac-12, you have to play just a little bit better than your opponent," Cal coach Matt McShane said. "There were times tonight we played better than USC, but the majority of the time they were better than us."

Senior Antzela Dempi had another terrific night with 12 kills, five aces, seven digs and two blocks. Annevelink led the Bears offensively with 14 kills at a .367 hitting percentage and Mirkovic had 11 kills and 14 digs. Libero Emma Smith had 21 digs.

"We had an opportunity to night to get a win on the road in the Pac-12," McShane said. "We make good plays, but it's not making good plays once in awhile. The teams that win are the ones that make good plays the vast majority of the time. That's one of the things we need to learn."

The Bears are back in action Saturday night at No. 12 UCLA at 6 p.m.