TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 20 California moved back into second place in the Pac-12 Conference with a thrilling 18-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-27, 15-12 victory over Arizona State Sunday afternoon at Desert Financial Arena.

The Bears improved to 20-4 on the season and 10-4 in conference play, earning their 20^th win of the year with six matches left to play. It's the first time Cal has won 20 matches in a season since 2011.

Junior Mima Mirkovic led California with her 11^th double-double of the season, notching 18 kills and 19 digs, while senior Bailee Huizenga recorded her third consecutive double-double with 18 kills and 13 digs. Senior Maddie Haynes added 13 kills and redshirt sophomore Lauren Forte tallied 11 of her own.

"I thought we managed and handled the tough serving by ASU well today and our group stayed very composed, especially during the times where we were not playing as well as we would have liked," Cal head coach Sam Crosson said. "We were able to create scoring chances from the service line and I really liked how aggressive we were during the entire fifth set. Today's match was a great team effort as several players were asked to step in and help the group today which was great to see. We are certainly excited about going home with two wins and are looking forward to the challenge of our remaining schedule in the Pac-12"

ASU (13-12, 5-9 Pac-12) jumped out to an early 13-6 lead in the first frame, forcing Cal to use its first timeout of the set. The Bears worked to battle back, but couldn't get closer than five points the rest of the way as the Devils took the first on .395 hitting.

Cal used a 3-0 run in the second to take a 10-7 lead, forcing the Sun Devils to use a timeout. The Bears extended their run out of the timeout, scoring six of the next seven points to build a 16-8 advantage and force ASU to spend its second timeout of the set. California went on to close out the set from there, tallying .424 efficiency in the frame to even the match at one set each.

The Bears built an early lead in the first, extending it to 15-11 on a service ace from senior Savannah Rennie, forcing Arizona State to use its first timeout of the set. Rennie followed with her second straight ace out of the break and the Devils used their second timeout, trailing 17-11. Cal notched its third ace of the set, this time courtesy of sophomore libero Gabby Bellizzi to build a 22-15 advantage and cruise to the set victory.

Arizona State went up 11-3 in the fourth, and the Bears closed to within one at 17-16, using an extended run of 8-2. Cal fought back from four points down again to make it 21-20 and force another Sun Devil timeout, before ASU closed out the set and forced a fifth frame.

Tied 6-6 in the fifth, Cal scored four of the next five points to go up 10-7 and force an ASU timeout. Two straight kills from Mirkovic, followed by back-to-back kills from Forte gave the Bears match point and it ended on a Sun Devil service error.

"We weren't as crisp today compared to Arizona, but despite not executing at times we showed that our team dynamic is extremely powerful," Mirkovic said. "We continued to battle and didn't give up even when we were struggling collectively as a group. It's great to know we have the foundation to work through things even when we're in a slump. Sam always says we are "bigger than the moment" and that really motivated us in the fifth to go out there and give it our all." 

In a tight match all around, Cal out-hit ASU .247-.239, won the kill battle 66-64 and recorded 83 digs compared to 77 for the Sun Devils.

Up Next: California returns to Haas Pavilion for the final two home matches of the regular season with UCLA up first on Friday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m., followed by senior day on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 17, against USC at 12 noon.

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