BERKELEY – California suffered a hard-fought loss to 17th-ranked Oregon to close its home slate for the season in a 3-0 decision (23-25, 15-25, 24-26) on Saturday at Haas Pavilion.
 
Despite the loss, the Golden Bears (14-13, 6-10 Pac-12) finish with a .500 home record (7-7) for the second consecutive season, going 8-8 in Berkeley in 2017.
 
An unwavering effort kept Cal competitive, even while trailing 2-0, the Bears forced extra points late in the final set. Cal recovered from a five-point deficit to tie things 19-19 before the back-and-forth battle ensued knotting things at 24 apiece before the Ducks (17-9, 10-6 Pac-12) closed things out.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Mima Mirkovic made a case offensively with a game-high 17 kills, one shy of her career best. It marks the 20th double-digit kill performance of the season for the Irvine, Calif., native.
 
"Unfortunately, it was difficult to string together consistent points tonight," said first-year head coach Jennifer Dorr.  "A lot comes down to serving and passing and we'll work on that more this week.
 
"Overall, I'm really proud of Mima's performance, all around. She lifted our team offensively tonight. It was a tough way to end at home, but we're so grateful for the support of the fans at Haas Pavilion and look forward to seeing them again next year."
 
In the beginning, Cal and Oregon traded points, knotting the score 15 times in the opening set. Led by Mirkovic's six kills, the Bears outhit the Ducks 17-15 and were even more efficient offensively with a .311 attacking percentage, compared to the Ducks' .234. Unfortunately, Oregon recovered after calling a timeout with Cal ahead 23-22 and grabbed set 1 on a 3-0 run.
 
Set 2 was less favorable for the Bears as the Ducks, who extended their nine game win streak tonight, gave up three quick points and could not close the margin.
 
Cal finishes the remaining four games on the road, starting with a visit to No. 25 Washington on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. (PT) and continuing at No. 19 Washington State on Nov. 18 at noon. The Bears-Huskies match-up will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network, while the Bears-Cougars bout will be streamed on Pac-12.com.
 
For more information on Cal volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CalVolleyball.