BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 9 California beach volleyball team split a pair of duals on the first day of the Death Volley Invitational on Friday, defeating Boise State 3-2 before falling to No. 6 Florida State 4-1 at the LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium.

The Golden Bears (12-7) began their dual against the Broncos immediately picking up wins at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, with Elle Evers and Jenna Colligan triumphing on Court 4 and Mila Vugrincic and Savanna Lau prevailing on Court 5 – both in straight sets. Cal's top pair of Emma Donley and Portia Sherman clinched the team win with a 21-14, 21-9 victory.

Marilu Pally and Grace Hong notched the Bears' lone win against the Seminoles, cruising to a 21-14, 21-9 triumph on Court 2. Donley and Sherman faced the country's No. 1 pair, according to TruVolley – Audrey Koenig and Alexis Durish – and dropped a hard-fought 23-21, 21-23, 15-10 decision. Donley and Sherman make up the No. 4 pair nationally.

The Bears close out play in the Death Volley Invitational on Saturday with duals against Georgia State and No. 4 Texas.

 
No. 9 California 3, Boise State 2
No. 1: Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) def. Ava Anderson/Addison Walden, 21-14, 21-9
No. 2: Allyson Alden/Serena Van Der Made (BSU) def. Marilu Pally/Grace Hong, 24-22, 26-24
No. 3: Kiara Demirjian/Avery Allen (BSU) def. Gia Fisher/Ava Haughy, 22-20, 21-18
No. 4: Elle Evers/Jenna Colligan (Cal) def. Addison Moss/Elli Wolthius, 21-15, 21-12
No. 5: Mila Vugrincic/Savanna Lau (Cal) def. Charlee Ellena/Lily Patoch, 21-14, 21-15
 
No. 6 Florida State 4, No. 9 California 1
No. 1: Audrey Koenig/Alexis Durish (FSU) def. Emma Donley/Portia Sherman, 23-21, 21-23, 15-10
No. 2: Marilu Pally/Grace Hong (Cal) def. Audrey Bothman/Jordan Boulware, 21-10, 21-11
No. 3: Gella Andrew/Maddie Trusty (FSU) def. Gia Fisher/Ava Haughy, 21-16, 21-13
No. 4: Kenzie Hultquist/Iane Henke (FSU) def. Elle Evers/Jenna Colligan, 21-16, 21-13
No. 5: Myriah Massey/Bailey Higgins (FSU) def. Mila Vugrincic/Savanna Lau, 21-15, 21-19
 

STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal beach volleyball, follow the Bears on Instagram (@calbeachvb) and X (@calbeachvb).