FARGO, N.D. – California volleyball earned two wins at the NDSU Classic with a 25-27, 25-17, 25-22, 25-16 win over host North Dakota State and a 25-18, 25-7, 27-25 victory over Buffalo on Friday inside Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.

The Bears improved to 8-0 on the season for the first time since 2011 with the two wins and have dropped just one set over the last five matches.

North Dakota State (3-4) used a strong home court advantage in the opening frame, taking the first set 27-25 in front of a loud 1,166 fans inside the fieldhouse. Cal responded in the second set, coming out of the gate to build an 8-1 lead and force the Bison to use a timeout. NDSU wouldn't get closer than five points in the rest of the set as the Bears evened the score at 1-1.

"First of all, this was an awesome venue to play in and I can't say enough about the atmosphere," Cal head coach Sam Crosson said. "I'm really glad we came out here and got this experience. I give a lot of respect to North Dakota State, their staff, players, fans and their students. We were thrown into it tonight and I was very proud of the way the team battled and stayed emotionally stable on the court. This group settled in and got it done in an incredible environment."

Cal came out on top 25-22 in a back-and-forth third set and used a run of six consecutive points in the fourth set to take the 3-1 victory.  

Junior Mima Mirkovic led the Bears with 15 kills to go along with eight digs, her sixth time this season with double-digit kills. In a very balanced offensive effort, senior Maddie Haynes added 11 kills, junior Preslie Anderson tallied nine, redshirt senior Savannah Rennie recorded eight, and senior Bailee Huizenga and redshirt sophomore Lauren Forte added seven and six, respectively.

Cal out-hit NDSU .318-.201 and held a 53-47 advantage in digs. The Bison had 58 kills compared to 56 for the Bears.

"We struggled a little bit in our serve and receive, but offensively I think we were really good," Crosson said. "I like the fact we got the full gamut of what to expect when we get to Pac-12 play in terms of the venue, environment and being on the road. It was our little group against everybody else and that was a good sign for us to get the win, but also to continue learning about ourselves. We can rely on these experiences when we get to conference play."

In the first match of the day, five Bears hit .400 or better in the win over Buffalo (2-5). Cal was led by a 14-kill effort from Mirkovic on .429 hitting. Cal held a 16-14 advantage over the Bulls before Crosson called a timeout that led to seven of the next nine points on the board going to the Bears, who would close out the first frame from there.

The Bears dominated the second set (25-7), scoring the final nine points of the frame to take the 2-0 lead in the match. Buffalo battled back in the third, scoring three straight points to pull within 20-18 late as California looked to close it out. Huizenga got the momentum back for Cal with a big swing and kill to make it 22-19, but Buffalo evened the score at 24-24 and 25-25 before the Bears ended it with two straight points to take the match.  

Rennie totaled eight kills on a .444 hitting clip while Haynes tallied six kills of her own on a .455 hitting percentage. Sophomore Jade Blevins tied her career-high with three service aces and senior libero Emma Smith led the Bears with 10 digs on the afternoon.

"I challenged the group after the match in terms of our floor defense, I think that's the biggest spot we can improve heading into our home opener," Crosson said. "We do a lot of really nice things from the service line, but we were not as effective tonight with our ability to be scrappy and just have the mentality the ball isn't going to hit the floor. We were a little hesitant and good communication can help us improve on those situations as we go forward."

Up Next: The Bears open the 2019 home slate against Saint Mary's with a 7 p.m. first serve inside Haas Pavilion on Thursday, September 19. Cal then completes the home-and-home with the Gaels on Saturday, September 21 in Moraga.