JUAN DOLIO, Dominican Republic – Third-seeded Portia Sherman and Emma Donley of the California beach volleyball team took home the gold medal this weekend at the U23 NORCECA Continental Tour in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic. Representing Team USA, the two Golden Bears went 5-0 and did not lose a single set.
 
The tournament, which featured 15 pairs from 11 different countries, began on Friday with pool play. Sherman and Donley took down the host nation's team of Zoe and Turdi in the opening match 21-8, 21-8 and followed with a 21-14, 21-12 win over Guatemala's Aguilar and Monney to win the pool and advance to the quarterfinals.
 
On day two of the tournament, Cal's court-one pair knocked off Rivera and Bruhier from Honduras 21-15, 21-9 to move on to the final four on Sunday.
 
On Sunday Sherman and Donley kicked off the morning with 21-12, 21-12 win over Silva and Brenes from Nicaragua to advance to the championship round where they would face the tournament's top seed – Hancock and Cudmore of Canada. Pitted against the only other pair that had not lost a set all weekend, the Bears won in dominant fashion defeating the Canadian duo 21-14, 21-12 to claim the gold medal.
 
The Cal duo's new hardware adds to an already historic 2025. During the collegiate season Sherman and Donley posted a 28-7 record on court one and became the first Bears in program history to be named AVCA First Team All-Americans. Their 28 wins were the most in a single season and both Bears reached the career milestone of 50 wins.
 
This was Sherman's first international experience while Donley was named to the US Beach Collegiate National Team last season. The Bears were joined by assistant coach Dancer Styles.