BERKELEY – In what was maybe the most memorable day in the history of Cal beach volleyball, Jessica Gaffney and Mima Mirkovic answered the call.

Playing together for the first time ever, the No. 1 pair clinched the Bears' 3-2 Senior Day victory over Stanford in the Big Spike with a 22-20, 21-16 victory over the Cardinal's Morgan Hentz and Amelia Smith. The win came after Cal honored seniors Bryce Bark, Mackenzie Feldman, Teya Neff and Gaffney in a prematch ceremony and avenged a 3-2 loss to Stanford last weekend at the Pac-12 North Tournament in Seattle.

It also came in front of a huge sun-splashed crowd that not only enjoyed some high-level Pac-12 beach volleyball, but the first-ever Big Spike Picnic as well.

"The Cal staff did a phenomenal job creating a really exciting environment for the team to play in, which only fed to their energy to have a good time playing," Cal head coach Meagan Owusu said. "This match had a lot of significance because it was Senior Day and we were playing for the athletes that are graduating. It means a lot to everyone in the program."

Cal's top two pairs took the court with the Bears leading the dual 2-1. While Cal's No. 2 pair of sophomore Iya Lindahl and freshman Alexia Inman were losing, Gaffney and Mirkovic won a heated first set 22-20 then pulled away at the end of the second set to put the Bears over the top.

"That was probably the most fun game I've had playing," Gaffney said. "I honestly can't explain my joy enough. It was an amazing day."

Gaffney spent most of last season on Cal's No. 1 pair and five matches early this season as well. She had gone 15-6 as part of the No. 2 pair with Lindahl, but Owusu decided to shake up the top pairs against the Cardinal.

Gaffney and Mirkovic, the only players on the team who also play for Cal's indoor program, practiced just two days together before taking the court Saturday.

"We just embraced it," Gaffney said. "I had my whole family here, and a lot of friends. I wanted to do it for the school. To be able to go out and beat Stanford's top team, I couldn't ask for anything better. I'm so grateful I got put in that position to have the opportunity to do that for the team. It ended up coming down to our game, and we took care of business."

Bark, Feldman and Neff made up Cal's first beach volleyball-only recruiting class back in 2015. Gaffney transferred to Cal before her junior season.

"The senior class is the original crew," Owusu said. "It's emotional and sad thinking about how they aren't going to be here next year. But what they have given to this program will last for years to come."

 
No. 13 Cal 3, No. 12 Stanford 2
No. 1: Jessica Gaffney-Mima Mirkovic (Cal) def. Amelia Smith-Morgan Hentz, 22-20, 21-16
No. 2: Sunny Villapando-Courtney Bowen (Stan) def. Iya Lindahl-Alexia Inman, 21-18, 21-11
No. 3: Catherine Raquel-Kate Formico (Stan) def. Bryce Bark-Madison Dueck, 19-21, 21-17, 15-9
No. 4: Caroline Schafer-Mia Merino (Cal) def. Payton Chang-Caitlin Keefe, 21-16, 21-16
No. 5: Grace Campbell-Maddie Micheletti (Cal) def. Shannon Richardson-Blake Sharp, 19-21, 21-13, 15-9