SEATTLE – Trailing 2-1 to No. 4 USC, the No. 13 Cal beach volleyball team needed its No. 4 and No. 5 pair to win Sunday for the Golden Bears to pull out a victory in the dual.

The entire team crowded around the No. 4 court to cheer on junior Mia Merino and freshman Caroline Schafer. There was no need to give No. 5 pair Grace Campbell and Maddie Micheletti any support.

Campbell and Micheletti did what they always to – take care of business – and the Bears did indeed come back to notch a defining 3-2 win over the Trojans at the Pac-12 North Tournament.

Campbell and Micheletti notched a straight-set victory, part of a 4-0 weekend that improved their overall record to 22-1 on the season. The duo also registered a victory later in the day in a 3-2 loss to No. 14 Stanford was named to the Pac-12 North All-Tournament Team.

"Not one person on our team felt the need to go support our 5s team – they knew they would get the job done," Cal head coach Meagan Owusu said. "They are silent killers – that's the best way to describe it. They are steady and complement each other really well."

The win over the Trojans marked the program's first win ever over a top-5 opponent. Cal (19-6) also defeated Oregon 5-0 on Saturday during the first day of the tournament while falling 3-2 to Washington.
Of Cal's six losses this season, five have been by a 3-2 score.

"As painful as that is, that just shows that we are one or two points away from having just one loss," Owusu said.

Campbell and Micheletti's victory against USC tied the dual at 2-2, putting all the focus on the third and deciding set. Schafer came up with a block at match point for a 21-19, 13-21, 15-13 victory.

"They knew it came down to them, and it was a very back-and-forth match," Owusu said. "At the end of the third set, they got big and earned their points. They went for it, and that's something we are starting to see consistently, win or lose. This team competes and competes hard."

The Bears had chances to pull out a win over the Cardinal. With Cal leading the dual 2-1, the No. 2 and No. 3 matches went to a third set. Cal's No. 3 pair of Jessica Gaffney and Iya Lindahl eventually fell 19-21, 21-13, 15-11 to even the dual at 2-2, and then the Bears' No. 2 pair of senior Bryce Bark and sophomore Madison Dueck lost 26-24, 28-30, 15-10.

The Bears will get a rematch with Stanford next Saturday when it closes out the regular season on Senior Day at the Clark Kerr Sand Courts. Cal will begin the week with a dual at Saint Mary's on Tuesday.

"Going into the Stanford match, we knew we were coming off the high of winning against USC," Owusu said. "It was going to take a large amount of mental discipline. We came out a little flat, and we made a few errors that we don't tend to usually make. That stung. But when you have a loss like that, you are even more hungry to see them again."

 
No. 13 Cal 3, No. 4 USC 2
No. 1: Tina Graudina-Abril Bustamante (USC) def. Mima Mirkovic-Alexia Inman, 21-10, 21-9
No. 2: Jessica Gaffney-Iya Lindahl (Cal) def. Joy Dennis-Cammie Dorn, 21-18, 21-19
No. 3: Terese Cannon-Sammy Slater (USC) def. Bryce Bark-Madison Dueck, 21-11, 21-17
No. 4: Mia Merino-Caroline Schafer (Cal) def. Alexandra Poletto-Haley Hallgren, 21-19, 13-21, 15-13
No. 5: Grace Campbell-Maddie Micheletti (Cal) def. Jo Kremer-Jenna Belton, 21-14, 21-17
 
No. 14 Stanford 3, No. 13 Cal 2
No. 1: Morgan Hentz-Amelia Smith (Stan) def. Mima Mirkovic-Alexia Inman, 22-20, 21-15
No. 2: Sunny Villapando-Courtney Bowen (Stan) def. Bryce Bark-Madison Dueck, 26-24, 28-30, 15-10
No. 3: Catherine Raquel-Kate Formico (Stan) def. Jessica Gaffney-Iya Lindahl, 19-21, 21-13, 15-11
No. 4: Mia Merino-Caroline Schafer (Cal) def. Payton Chang-Caitlin Keefe, 21-17, 21-17
No. 5: Grace Campbell-Maddie Micheletti (Cal) def. Shannon Richardson-Blake Sharp, 21-19, 21-12