STANFORD – Cal's No. 2 pair of sophomore Iya Lindhal and freshman Alexia Inman finished off a marathon dual in the contenders bracket of the Pac-12 Championship on Friday, notching a 21-17, 29-31, 15-11 win to give the Golden Bears a 3-2 victory over Arizona at the Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium.

The victory (23-7) kept Cal's season alive, as the Bears will play Washington in another contenders bracket match at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning. Cal defeated the Huskies 4-1 in the first round on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the Bears dropped a 4-1 decision to USC in the semifinals to fall into the contenders bracket.

After Cal won two of the first three matches against the Wildcats, the No. 2 and No. 3 pairs each engaged in dramatic showdowns to decide it. The Bears' No. 3 pair of senior Bryce Bark and sophomore Madison Dueck erased a 13-10 deficit in the third set and had multiple match points, but Arizona ultimately prevailed, 13-21, 21-18, 20-18.

Lindahl and Inman had a chance to close out their match in the second set after coming back from a 20-16 hole but couldn't capitalize on a handful of set points and it went to the third and deciding set.

"It was so fun, especially with all that pressure on us," Lindahl said. "We just trusted our training and what got us to that moment. When we were down 20-16, my mentality was to try to just get some good momentum for the third game, and we actually tied it up. It was a really tiring loss but we bounced back really well."

The Bears suffered two narrow losses against the Trojans that proved to be the difference in the dual. No. 5 pair Grace Campbell and Maddie Micheletti lost just their second match all season in a 21-16, 19-21, 16-14 setback while Bark and Dueck fell 21-14, 18-21, 15-13.

"We lost some tough, close matches against USC and we addressed the fact that we need to close out the match, especially in those third-set situations," Cal head coach Meagan Owusu said. "We had the opportunity to close out a tight dual against Arizona, and we did that. The change we made from USC to Arizona was phenomenal."

If the Bears can get by Washington on Saturday morning, they will move on to play the loser of the match between USC and UCLA for the right to play in the championship dual.

"Those experiences like we had today are what it's all about," Owusu said. "Each pair was tested and responded beautifully – whether they won or lost. The returners will remember this match tomorrow and in seasons to come."

 
No. 5 USC 4, No. 12 Cal 1
No. 1: Tina Graudina-Abril Bustamante (USC) def. Jessica Gaffney-Mima Mirkovic, 21-8, 21-14
No. 2: Terese Cannon-Sammy Slater (USC) def. Iya Lindahl-Alexia Inman, 21-12, 21-16
No. 3: Joy Dennis-Cammie Dorn (USC) def. Bryce Bark-Madison Dueck, 21-14, 18-21, 15-13
No. 4: Mia Merino-Caroline Schafer (Cal) def. Jenna Belton-Maja Kaiser, 32-20, 21-15
No. 5: Alexandro Poletto-Haley Hallgren (USC) def. Grace Campbell-Maddie Micheletti, 21-16, 19-21, 16-14
 
No. 12 Cal 3, No. 14 Arizona 2
No. 1: Jessica Gaffney-Mima Mirkovic (Cal) def. Natalie Anselmo-Olivia Macdonald, 21-19, 21-11
No. 2: Iya Lindahl-Alexia Inman (Cal) def. Kacey Nady-Olivia Hallaran, 21-17, 29-31, 15-11
No. 3: Hailey Devlin-Stephany Purdue (Ariz) def. Bryce Bark-Madison Dueck, 13-21, 21-18 20-18
No. 4: Brooke Burling-Jonny Baham (Ariz) def. Mia Merino-Caroline Schafer, 21-16, 21-19
No. 5: Grace Campbell-Maddie Micheletti (Cal) def. Caroline Cordes-Makenna Martin, 21-16, 21-19