BERKELEY – California suffered a heart-breaking loss Friday night at Haas Pavilion, as it gave up a 3-2 (25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 21-25, 13-15) decision to 18th-ranked UCLA after winning the opening two sets of the match.
 
The Golden Bears early momentum, led by a valiant defensive effort that included 9.0 team blocks on the night, was not enough to hold off the Bruins hitters as they posted critical kills to fight back for the win.
 
Cal duo Mima Mirkovic and Preslie Anderson orchestrated a strong offensive effort, with Mirkovic posting a career-high 18 kills, while Anderson added 13 kills, one shy of her career milestone. Mirkovic also added 12 digs to mark her seventh double-double of the season.
 
Anderson produced a game-high .458 attacking percentage as she headed into the weekend ranked second in the Pac-12 with an overall .388 clip.
 
"Mima's and Preslie's fast, aggressive starts brought the team along and it was evident in how dominant we were in the first two sets," said Cal head coach Jennifer Dorr. "We implemented what we practiced early on and the fact that we're taking sets off ranked teams, something we weren't able to do last year, is a victory for our confidence."
 
Bailee Huizenga and Carmen Annevelink recorded 12 kills each giving Cal a 67-62 edge in kills on the night.  
 
Cal (8-6, 0-3 Pac-12) outhustled UCLA (7-4, 2-2 Pac-12) heading into the break with a decisive 31-23 lead in kills as they clinched the opening two sets. The Bears also served a quartet of aces in set 2 as its offensive effort intensified.  
 
Sophomore setter Isabell Potter tied for a game-high with three aces, to match her career best for the third time this season.
 
The Bears also blazed through set 1 producing several lopsided runs to give them a comfortable lead from the start. Cal outhit UCLA 15-12 in the opening game, and capitalized on UCLA's six errors.
 
Unfortunately, the Bruins were not rattled by the early deficit as Mac May found her strike zone to post a game-high 20 kills and 14 digs, while Alexis Light contributed 19 kills.
 
Cal returns to the court for a bout with No. 13 USC at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. (PT) with a live stream available on Pac-12.com.
 
For more information on Cal volleyball, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CalVolleyball.