BERKLEEY - Last week, the Cal beach volleyball team showed it can compete with the best teams in the country.
This week, the Bears did what the best teams have to do on a weekly basis - they took care of business.
The No. 12 Bears shut out both No. 18 Saint Mary's and UC Davis 5-0 on Saturday, proving that when they are right they are among the most dominant squads in the country.
After a couple of gutting losses last week at No. 6 Hawai'i, Saint Mary's represented another stiff challenge for the Bears. The Gaels were riding a 10-match win streak, including a victory against No. 14 Stanford. But Cal put an emphatic end to Saint Mary's' undefeated streak.
"It really shows how strong our team is and how resilient we are," Cal junior Abby Waldburger said. "It just shows that we were willing to work and willing to prove that (the Hawai'i) games should have been ours."
While the Bears won in a shutout, the Gaels were hardly a pushover. Saint Mary's' No. 1 and No. 5 pairs pushed their matches to the third set and the No. 2 and No. 4 matches had sets go to extra points. As such, the fight that Cal showed was a welcome sight for head coach Meagan Owusu.
"Saint Mary's is a top-20 team and Davis is continuing to get better, so to go 5-0 against both those teams is a really big accomplishment today," Owusu said.
During practice this week, Owusu and Associate Head Coach Derek Olson made a few alterations to Cal's lineup. Changes included pairing sophomore Maddie Micheletti with sophomore Caroline Schafer at the No. 2 pair and moving senior Mia Merino and junior Abby Waldburger up from the No. 5 to No. 4 pair. These moves reaped immediate rewards with the two shutouts.
"We made some switches with our pairs this week and I think all the individuals involved really rose to the occasion and put the team first and embraced their new roles," Owusu said.
Merino and Waldburger had a striking debut at the No. 4 position, winning all four of their sets and demolishing UC Davis 21-5, 21-7. The success at the No. 4 position is particularly meaningful for Waldburger who, as an upperclassman, is getting her first regular playing time this season. However, because the team is so tight-knit, Waldburger feels like she is put in a position to excel no matter where she is in the lineup.
"The team does such a good job of supporting you regardless of if you're 6s, or 5s, or 4s - up to the 1s," Waldburger said.
The Bears travel to Moraga on Wednesday to play the Gaels again at 4 p.m. Cal then hosts San Jose State on Senior Day on Friday.
After such a triumphant day on their home court on Saturday, Cal is looking forward to finishing its home schedule in style.
"It's really nice to be home and have our entire squad and staff supporting the athletes that are playing, not to mention having our family and friends cheering us on," Owusu said. "It makes a big difference."
No. 12 California 5, No. 18 Saint Mary's 0
No. 1: Jordan Polo-Mima Mirkovic (CAL) def. Lindsey Knudsen Sarah Chase 21-16, 17-21, 15-11
No. 2: Caroline Schafer-Maddie Micheletti (CAL) def. Lindsey Calvin-Emily Bible 21-13, 24-22
No. 3: Grace Campbell-Iya Lindahl (CAL) def. Crash Parker-Sienna Young 21-13, 21-17
No. 4: Mia Merino-Abby Waldburger (CAL) def. Boo Laird-Morgan Kendrick 21-12, 23-21
No. 5: Alexia Inman-Madi Dueck (CAL) def. Selbie Christensen-Chandler Cowell 21-9, 23-25, 15-7
No. 12 California 5, UC Davis 0
No. 1: Jordan Polo-Mima Mirkovic (CAL) def. Lauren Matias and Jane Seslar 21-18, 21-11
No. 2: Caroline Schafer-Maddie Micheletti (CAL) def. Paloma Bowman and Josephine Ough 21-14, 21-13
No. 3: Grace Campbell-Iya Lindahl (CAL) def. Heather Reed and Savanah Schroeder 21-10, 21-15
No. 4: Mia Merino-Abby Waldburger (CAL) def. Rose Holscher and Demari Webb 21-5, 21-7
No. 5: Alexia Inman-Madi Dueck (CAL) def. Ally Reyes and Alexa Rockas 21-7, 21-7