BERKELEY – The Cal beach volleyball team opened its home schedule in dominating fashion Thursday, winning all five matches in sweeps in a 5-0 rout of Santa Clara at the Clark Kerr Sand Courts.

The Bears held the Broncos to single-digits in three sets and didn't allow more than 17 points in any set.

"We switched our focus to really honoring our side of the net and taking care of our business, and the rest will come," Cal head coach Meagan Owusu said. "That's what happened today."

After falling 3-2 to Saint Mary's in their season-opener, the Bears (2-1) have dropped just one match since in defeating Pacific and Santa Clara. Cal's all-freshmen pair of Mima Mirkovic and Alexia Inman made it three straight wins to begin the season with a 21-12, 21-8 victory over the Broncos.

Owusu said the Bears' rotation will be fluid all season depending on competition at practice, and she already made changes Thursday. Mirkovic and Inman switched places with senior Bryce Bark and sophomore Madison Dueck, with Mirkovic-Inman playing at No. 2 and Bark-Dueck at No. 3. She also broke up the all-freshmen pair of Caroline Schafer and Maddie Micheletti, who played together at No. 4 in Cal's first two matches. Schafer remained at No. 4 on Thursday but played with junior Mia Merino while Micheletti played at No. 5 with junior Grace Campbell. Merino and Campbell had opened the season at the No. 5 spot.

"All throughout the season, the girls know that it's never a fixed lineup," Owusu said. "They are ready for changes and they embrace that."

Senior Jessica Gaffney and sophomore Iya Lindahl continued to play as the Bears' No. 1 pair and rolled to a 21-9, 21-15 victory. Campbell and Micheletti dominated their match with a 21-10, 21-8 win.

"We just really want to prove ourselves as a beach program and show everyone what we have," Lindahl said. "We were so excited to be finally be playing at home. We've been hyping it up all week."

The Bears are right back in action Friday when they take on San Jose State at West Valley College. The dual begins at 4 p.m.

 
Cal 5, Santa Clara 0
No. 1: Jessica Gaffney-Iya Lindahl (Cal) def. Kirsten Mead-Taylor Odom, 21-9, 21-15
No. 2: Mima Mirkovic-Alexia Inman (Cal) def. Hailey Lindberg-Gretchen Reinert, 21-12, 21-8
No. 3: Bryce Bark-Madison Dueck (Cal) def. Tessie Powers-Ngozi-Nwahbuzoh, 21-17, 21-11
No. 4: Mia Merino-Caroline Schafer (Cal) def. Tatiana San Juan-Allison Kantor, 21-17, 21-12
No. 5: Grace Campbell-Maddie Micheletti (Cal) def. Erin Reineking-Michelle Gajdka, 21-10. 21-8