BERKELEY – Every student-athlete on the Cal volleyball roster was brought to the Golden Bears by former head coach Rich Feller.

That was motivation enough for the Bears to make sure they brought home a victory on the night they celebrated their old leader's retirement.

Cal overcame a shaky start to knock off Saint Mary's 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 on Friday on an emotional evening in which Feller was honored during a special prematch ceremony.

It was the ninth win in a row for the Bears (9-1), who are off to their best start since beginning the 2011 season 13-0. Cal also equaled its win total from all of last season with Friday's victory.

"The first thing we said on the court was let's win this match for Rich," said senior Christine Alftin, who had 12 kills, 13 digs and hit for a .444 percentage. "Obviously, Rich has given all of us the opportunity to play D-1 volleyball. He's the reason we are here. So having Rich here tonight was a big deal."

After over 150 special guests joined Feller in a prematch reception in the Haas Pavilion club room, he was then brought on to the court just before the first serve and presented with a Cal cycling jersey by athletic director Mike Williams, associate athletic director Foti Mellis and current head coach Matt McShane. Feller, an avid cyclist, then also received a gift from Saint Mary's coach Rob Browning. Feller retired in June after 18 seasons as Cal's head coach.

After Feller spoke to the crowd for a few minutes, the Bears couldn't maintain a four-point lead in the first set and were forced to regroup.

"We came out a little rocky in the first game," Alftin said. "I would have graded us a C-minus in that first game, but we still only lost by two points. So we knew going into the second game if we just picked it up a little, we'd be in good shape."

Alftin certainly helped the Bears get in position to win, registering her second straight double-double and third of the season. Freshman Mima Mirkovic led the Bears with 16 kills and 14 digs while senior Antzela Dempi continued her torrid play to begin the season with 11 kills, a career-high five aces and four blocks.

Right side hitter Carmen Annevelink added 10 kills and freshman middle blocker Preslie Anderson had six blocks.

"All four of our pin hitters are capable of hitting .450," McShane said. "We are getting some really, really good numbers from our pin hitters. If you don't serve us tough and we are in system, we are really good."

Friday marked the fifth double-digit match this season in kills for Dempi, who entered the night ranked seventh in the Pac-12 with a .379 hitting percentage. She also has at least four aces in three different matches this season. Dempi came in to the match averaging 0.48 aces per set, good for third in the conference. She leads the Bears at 3.08 kills per set.

"We have a joke on the court now that every time Antzela touches the ball, something good happens," Alftin said. "Everything she touches turns to gold. She worked her butt off in the spring and I'm pretty sure all of that training is paying off for her."

The Bears close out the nonconference portion of their schedule Saturday at Pacific. First serve is at 7 p.m.