BERKELEY – The Golden Bears defeated the University of Pacific Tigers at Haas Pavilion on Wednesday night to finish off their nonconference home games with an undefeated 4-0 record. California came back after losing the first two sets, to defeat the Tigers by a set score of 3-2 (24-26, 22-25, 26-24, 25-20, 15-11).
 
Mima Mirkovic continued her hot start to the season with 16 kills, 21 digs, and a team-high two service aces. Mirkovic has played a pivotal part in the Bears early season success and looks to continue her stellar play moving forward into the Pac-12 season. Carmen Annevelink had a career-high 18 kills, which was also a game high for the Bears, while Bailee Huizenga was not far behind, adding 10 kills of her own.
 
Setters Isabel Potter and Jade Blevins combined to have 56 assists for California (8-2, 0-0 Pac-12). This marks Cal's first win against Pacific (4-6, 0-0 WCC) since 2006, snapping a four-game losing streak to the Tigers.
 
Cal's bench played a pivotal part in Thursday's closely-contested matchup with Lauren Forte contributing six kills and nine blocks off the bench. The Bear's combined for 16 blocks, the most the team has had in a single game since Nov. 14, 2013 against Oregon State.
 
"I was really happy with the way that Lauren [Forte] came in with a fire underneath her," said head coach Jennifer Dorr.  "She's been working hard to get her game back up to speed and its coming along."
 
"I'm just so proud of the resiliency. We continued to dig deep, keep fighting and grind it out," Dorr added. "We are going to have to light our own fire and capitalize on all of the good things we know we can do in a hostile environment."
 
Cal will look to finish off their nonconference schedule before heading into Pac-12 play with a match against their WCC rivals, Saint Mary's Gaels, in Moraga on Saturday, September 15 at 3 p.m. (PT).