SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The California beach volleyball team added two wins on Saturday to push their winning streak to seven straight matches as they took down Washington and Oregon. The Bears opened play at the Pac-12 South Tournament at Ocean Park with a 4-1 win over Washington and followed it with a 5-0 win against Oregon.
 
The Bears took to the beach for the first time this year, playing in windy conditions in Santa Monica.
 
"It was a good day for us, I thought we gained some experience and picked up some quality wins against good teams," acting head coach Derek Olson said. "Playing on the beach and getting some good experience combating the wind will help us in the long run."
 
No. 11 California (4) def. Washington (1)
All five Bear pairs took to the sand simultaneously as the Bears opened competition at the Pac-12 South Tournament on Saturday morning. The Bears took down their Pac-12 counterparts from Washington, winning 4-1 while sweeping three matchups.
 
Ainsley Radell and Maddie Micheletti were the first pair to claim victory as the duo won 21-17, 21-17 at the fourth pair. Mima Mirkovic and Iya Lindahl took care of business on the first court. The duo won 21-14, 21-17 to make it six straight victories for the pair.
 
The next pair to finish was at the fifth spot, Callie Weber and Scarlett Dahl of Washington handed the Bears their only loss of the dual as they defeated Jacqueline Ribeiro and Chloe Luyties.
 
The Bears clinched the match at the third spot as Alexia Inman and Madison Dueck continued their standout start to the 2020 campaign. The pair, coming off being named Pac-12 Pair of the Week last week, moved to 7-0 on the year.
 
Jordan Polo and Caroline Schafer wrapped the matchup with a three-set victory on court number two. They lost the first set 18-21, but responded with a 21-11 win in the second set. In the third set, Polo and Schafer prevailed in a hard-fought battle winning 6-4.
 
"Jordan and Caroline had a couple of errors in the first set, we forced it offensively," Olson said. "We talked about being more in control and letting the game come to us and I think that helped. Jordan made some big digs at 14-all in the third set and Caroline came alive at the net to pull it out."

#1 Mima Mirkovic/Iya Lindahl (CAL) def. Shayne McPherson/Kara Bajema (UW) - 21-14, 21-17
#2 Jordan Polo/Caroline Schafer (CAL) def. Natalie Robinson/Chloe Loreen (UW) - 18-21, 21-11, 16-14
#3 Alexia Inman/Madison Dueck (CAL) def. Emma Calle/Addie Picha (UW) - 25-23, 21-15
#4 Ainsley Radell/Maddie Micheletti (CAL) def. Shannon Crenshaw/Claire Hoffman (UW) - 21-17, 21-17
#5 Callie Weber/Scarlett Dahl (UW) def. Jacqueline Ribeiro/Chloe Luyties (CAL) - 21-14, 21-13
Order of finish: 4, 1, 5, 3*, 2
 
No. 11 California (5) def. Oregon (0)
Cal returned in the second half of the doubleheader and routed Oregon, 5-0. The Bears did not drop a set as they moved to 6-0 against the Ducks.
 
The Bears won three sets by better than a 21-10 score. Lindahl and Mirkovic won 21-6 in the second set after winning the first set 21-16. The duo has now won seven straight matches.
 
"Mima and Iya were cruising at the top spot," Olson said. "They're going to do well in the wind because they're both smaller, ball-control players. I would expect them to play well in the conditions that we had today. I think they're going to get better and better as the season goes along and they get used to playing with each other."

Ribeiro and Luyties rebounded from their loss against Washington with a dominant performance on court five. The pair won 21-8 in the first set and followed it up with a 21-15 decision in the second set. Polo and Schafer were the third pair to claim a dominant set win. They claimed the first set 21-17 and followed with a 21-10 victory to clinch the match for the Bears.
 
Dueck and Inman remained undefeated with another straight-set victory, the eighth straight decision they have won in straight sets. Dueck and Inman are 6-0 while playing on court three. Radell and Micheletti competed the sweep as they won 21-13, 21-18 on the fourth court.
 
"Against Oregon we got off to a slow start, but we were able to find a rhythm after that," Olson said. "We did a good job of controlling our side and playing good volleyball. We played pretty solid one through five."

#1 Mima Mirkovic/Iya Lindahl (CAL) def. Jade Sadeiko/Bea Wetton (ORE) - 21-16, 21-6
#2 Jordan Polo/Caroline Schafer (CAL) def. Carly Wallace/Madelyn LaFollette (ORE) - 21-16, 21-10
#3 Alexia Inman/Madison Dueck (CAL) def. Savannah Siegrist/Ally Haden (ORE) - 21-14, 21-13
#4 Ainsley Radell/Maddie Micheletti (CAL) def. Zoe Almanza/Anastasia Lima (ORE) - 21-19, 21-18
#5 Jacqueline Ribeiro/Chloe Luyties (CAL) def. Mia Lopez/Abby Hansen (ORE) - 21-8, 21-15
Order of finish: 1, 2, 5*, 3, 4
 
The Bears will continue play at the Pac-12 South Tournament tomorrow as they take on Arizona State and #5 USC. First serve vs. the Sun Devils will be at 8 a.m. PT at Mapes Beach at the Sunset Recreation Center on UCLA's campus. They will follow that with a 10 a.m. matchup vs. the Trojans.