LOS ANGELES  - The No. 10 Cal beach volleyball team's run at the Pac-12 Championship came to an end Saturday, with a 3-0 loss to reigning national champion and No. 1 seed UCLA. The Bears, who bounced back from a surprise loss in the tournament's opening round, finished in third place.

The Pac-12 Championship was a reflection of Cal's entire season. Time and again, the Bears followed tough defeats with signature victories. On Friday, the Bears staved off elimination by winning three straight must-win duals to qualify for the finals of the contender's bracket and earn a third-place finish for the second year in a row..  

"Our Bears competed through a tough road this weekend," Cal head coach Meagan Owusu said. "I am extremely proud of how we showed up and battled through every match."

In the end, UCLA simply proved too much for the Bears, who lost in the first three matches of the dual in consecutive sets. Reigning Pac-12 Pair of the Week Alexia Inman and Mia Merino gave the Bruins their toughest competition, sending the second set of the No. 4 match to extra points but falling 21-14, 23-21.

UCLA went on to lose the Pac-12 Championship 3-2 to USC later in the afternoon. UCLA and USC are widely expected to be the top two seeds at next weekend's NCAA Tournament.

While Cal has not quite joined UCLA and USC atop colligate beach volleyball, Owusu does not think the Bears are far off.

"USC and UCLA are very strong programs," she said. "They have a ton of experience and we are pretty young, but we are taking steps in the right direction." 

The Bears will now wait until Sunday to find out if they are awarded a bid to the NCAA Championships.

"We know we are on the bubble so we will remain cautiously optimistic," Owusu said. 

Even if Cal does not make the NCAA Championships, it continued to take significant strides as a program this season. The Bears earned all-time high rankings from AVCA and DiG Magazine and registered wins over multiple top-10 teams for the first time ever.

"We proved a lot to ourselves and others this season," Owusu said. "We had a tough schedule and rose to the occasion."

If the Bears do not make NCAAs, the UCLA dual will go down as the final one for seniors Grace Campbell, Mia Merino, and Karina Langli. Campbell and Merino both started all four years and all three seniors took the program from its infancy to the powerhouse that it is today.

"I am so thankful for all three of our seniors for making such an impact on this program," Owusu said.
 
The NCAA Beach Volleyball Selection Show begins at 4 p.m . PT. on NCAA.com.

No. 1 UCLA 3, No. 10 California 0
No. 1. Megan McNamara/Nicole McNamara (UCLA) def. Mima Mirkovic/Caroline Schafer, 21-9 21-13 
No. 2. Lily Justine/Sarah Sponcil (UCLA) vs. Maddie Micheletti/Jordan Polo, (CAL) 21-17 20-12 suspended 
No. 3. Zana Muno/Abby Van Winkle (UCLA) vs. Grace Campbell/Iya Lindahl, (CAL) 21-17 13-11 suspended
No. 4. Lea Monkhouse/Savvy Simo (UCLA) def. Alexia Inman/Mia Merino, 21-14 23-21 
No. 5. Izzy Carey/Lindsey Sparks (UCLA) def. Madison Dueck/Abby Waldburger, 21-14 21-15