BERKELEY – No. 16 California volleyball notched a fourth straight Pac-12 Conference sweep in a hard-fought 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 straight set victory over Arizona on Sunday at Haas Pavilion.

Senior Maddie Haynes led the Bears (15-1, 5-1 Pac-12) with 11 kills and two service aces, while junior Mima Mirkovic added eight kills and a game-high 13 digs. Redshirt sophomore Lauren Forte notched seven kills on .385 hitting.

The Wildcats (11-7, 1-5 Pac-12) got a game-high 13 kills from Paige Whipple and 12 digs from libero Emi Pua'a.

Cal started slow in the first set with Arizona building its biggest lead of 10-6 after a kill by Julia Patterson. The Bears kept battling, closing to within two points at 17-15 before using a run of four of the next five points to go up 22-20 and closed out the set on a kill by Mirkovic.

The teams traded points throughout the second set until a late run of four straight Bear points gave Cal a 20-17 advantage. Arizona fought back to pull within 21-19, but a kill from Haynes and service ace from junior setter Isabel Potter, one of five Bear aces on the day, finished the set for California.

"I'd say both offenses struggled a bit today compared to their usual norms, and it came down to blocking and some scrap hustle plays today," Cal associate head coach Jennifer Dorr said. "Our defense was the difference maker in the close sets today when we were off in other areas."  

As they did all afternoon, Arizona gave the Bears a fight in the final set. The third frame featured four ties and four lead changes. It was 18-17 Cal after a Bear attack error, but two straight kills from Mirkovic and Haynes made it a three-point lead and Arizona didn't get closer the rest of the way.

California had eight blocks compared to three for Arizona, and out-hit the Wildcats .223-.133. Arizona won the kill battle 38-34 and both teams tallied 39 digs.

"Towards the end of the match it came down to serving," Dorr said. "Our ace-to-error ratio was a big difference maker. We were able to get Arizona out of system and force them to play a high-ball game. That helped our block, our defense and limited their offense."

The Bears return to Haas Pavilion next weekend for Homecoming, with No. 18 Utah up first at 7 p.m. on Friday night.  

"It's going to be great to see former Golden Bears in the gym" Dorr said. "It's great to be in a position where our alums can see us creeping our way back to the top of the conference again. We're excited we get to be back in Haas and face two really good schools in Utah and Colorado."