BERKELEY – When Cal's volleyball team completed spring practice last May, head coach Matt McShane approached Antzela Dempi and Carmen Annevelink to tell them that nobody had improved as much as they had.

And they haven't stopped.

Dempi was named the Cal Classic most valuable player and Annevelink was selected to the all-tournament team after the Bears completed a perfect Saturday to finish the tournament 3-0.

The Bears (5-1) began the day by defeating Eastern Washington 25-19, 25-20, 25-21 then came back Saturday evening to beat Texas Tech 25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 26-24. Dempi had a career-high 19 kills against the Red Raiders and hit for a sizzling .515 percentage. In three matches during the tournament, Dempi averaged a team-high 3.60 kills per set with a blistering .477 hitting percentage.

Annevelink, meanwhile, also registered a career-high in kills against Texas Tech with 17 and averaged 3.20 kills per set during the weekend while hitting .315.

"I told them to keep it up," McShane said. "They both worked really hard during the summer and it's paying off."

Dempi saw time in just six sets as a junior while Annevelink played in just 26. But after opening the eyes of McShane during the spring, they continued to impress during fall camp and have been entrenched as the Bears' right side hitters in Cal's 6-2 offense so far this season.

"I kept thinking this is my last chance and probably my last year playing volleyball, so I wanted to make it a good one," Dempi said. "I've been working as hard as I can, and it's paying off."

Dempi leads the Bears through six matches at 2.50 kills per set while also hitting an impressive .352 for the season. Dempi also has honed her powerful jump-serve, reeling off a team-high 11 aces.

"Obviously, I'm really happy and excited to finally have this chance to play," Dempi said. "I didn't play that much for so long, so it's been a long time since I've played in consecutive games. The hard work is starting to show on the court."

Freshman Mima Mirkovic added 11 kills and 21 digs against Texas Tech while senior Christine Alftin had 10.

Annevelink had 12 kills in the win over Eastern Washington and Petiprin registered six blocks for the Bears, who are 5-1 for the first time since 2014.

"We have so many good players that are on the bench that I'm never going to say that we've settled in to a lineup," McShane said. "There is still competition that goes on every day. We are getting used to playing with each other, and it takes a while to start learning what the person next to you is doing. We are starting to come together with some of those things."