MORAGA – The No. 13 Cal beach volleyball team won the first three matches of its dual against No. 20 Saint Mary's on Tuesday and went on to a 3-2 victory at Moraga Commons Park.

The Bears (20-6) won the No. 3-5 matches, with No. 4 pair Caroline Schafer and Mia Merino winning in three sets, 21-15, 20-22, 15-13.

Cal's No. 5 pair of junior Grace Campbell and freshman Maddie Micheletti continued their torrid pace with an easy 21-13, 21-11 victory. The duo is now 23-1 on the season, including 11 straight victories. The past seven wins have come in straight sets, and they have dropped just four sets all season.

"I think obviously it has a lot to do with chemistry," Campbell said. "It's definitely been a process. It's taken time to grow and learn each other's tendencies. I think at this point now we definitely have something special."

Campbell and Micheletti form the second-ranked No. 5 pair in the nation, according to collegebeachvb.com.

Tuesday's win came just 48 hours after the Bears wrapped up a grueling weekend tournament in Seattle, in which they battled rain and win to go 2-2 at the Pac-12 North Tournament. That included a victory over No. 5 USC.

"We all knew that we would be pretty tired," Campbell said. "I think it shows the mental toughness and grit this team has."

The victory gave the Bears their first 20-win season in program history. They close out the regular season Saturday with the Big Spike against No. 12 Stanford at the Clark Kerr Sand Courts. The match will serve as Senior Day for seniors Bryce Bark, Jessica Gaffney, Teya Neff and Mackenzie Feldman.

The Big Spike picnic will also take place from 11 a.m-3 p.m. and will feature a food truck, bounce house, live D.J., silent auction and picnic games. The dual against Stanford begins at Noon.

 
No. 13 Cal 3, No. 20 Saint Mary's 2
No. 1: Morgan Hughes-Payton Rund (SMC) def. Mima Mirkovic-Alexia Inman, 21-14, 21-16
No. 2: Emily Bible-Lindsey Knudsen (SMC) def. Jessica Gaffney-Iya Lindahl, 22-20, 21-10
No. 3: Bryce Bark-Madison Dueck (Cal) def. Sarah Chase-Mary Hernandez, 21-19, 21-14
No. 4: Mia Merino-Caroine Schafer (Cal) def. Lindsey Calvin-Kelsey Knudsen, 21-15, 20-22, 15-13
No. 5: Grace Campbell-Maddie Micheletti (Cal) def. Madi Wilkerson-Sienna Young, 21-13, 21-11