BERKELEY – The pressure was on for California as it looked to set the tone for its final week in Haas Pavilion on Thursday night.
 
And without a blink or giving up a set, the Golden Bears (14-12, 6-9 Pac-12) swept through Oregon State (28-26, 25-21, 25-17) in its penultimate home game to take the series and pick up the most conference wins since 2013 when they won 10 league games.
 
The win marks the second series sweep of conference play for the Bears after recording a 3-1 victory against Utah last Friday in Berkeley. It is the first time Cal has won two conference series in the same season since 2013 when the Bears swept UCLA, Colorado and Oregon State.
 
The victory is also the first time Cal hasn't given up a set in a two-match series since 2011 when the Bears posted a pair of 3-0 wins against Arizona and Washington State and is only the sixth time since 2010 that Cal has won a series without giving up a set (Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State in 2010).

Led by Mima Mirkovic, who posted her 12th double-double of the season garnering 15 kills and 10 digs, Cal recorded its 14th win of the season, its most overall since 2013, when it was 18-13. Junior Maddie Haynes added 13 kills for her second consecutive double-digit offensive performance after posting a season-best 15 kills against the Utes.
 
Lauren Forte contributed seven kills with a game-high .385 hitting percentage, while Kat Knop posted a game-high 14 digs.
 
"I'm very proud of our resilience after a slow start in set 1. We got more comfortable playing against an unorthodox team and improved each set," said head coach Jennifer Dorr. "It was great seeing players come off the bench and perform their job well too."
 
The Bears were unyielding from the jump, going point-for-point with the Beavers the majority of the opening set. After eight ties midway through the set, Cal led by as much as six at 21-16 after a 6-2 scoring run. Mirkovic led the set with seven kills, despite the Bears being outhit 18-16. The Beavers trudged back on a 6-1 run to tie things at 22-22, but Cal was able to overcome three set points to outlast OSU and take the set on a 3-0 run.
 
Carrying the momentum into set 2, the Bears posted an 8-1 run, but ended up in another close battle as the Beavers tied things at 9-9 to begin another tightly contested game that Cal finished with a 4-point margin.

The final set proved Cal's most efficient with a combined .342 hitting percentage, as OSU suffered from seven errors. To make the victory even sweeter, freshman Gabby Bellizzi won the match on an ace. 
 
Cal closes out its 2018 home slate against Oregon on Saturday at 5 p.m. (PT). The Bears will celebrate departing seniors Carmen Annevelink and Mackenzie Albrecht. The game will be live streamed on Pac-12.com.
 
For more information on Cal volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CalVolleyball.