BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 9 California beach volleyball team went into spring break on a flourish Saturday, knocking off No. 4 Texas in a 3-2 thriller while also putting away Georgia State 4-1 on the final day of the Death Volley Invitational at the LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium.

The Golden Bears (14-7) snapped a three-match losing streak against the Longhorns that began in the first round of last season's NCAA Championships. After also dropping a pair of 3-2 decisions previously this season against Texas – including at last week's East Meet West Invitational in Manhattan Beach – Cal emerged on top this time after its No. 1 pair of Emma Donley and Portia Sherman broke a 2-2 tie with a 15-21, 21-19, 19-17 victory that set off a spirited Golden Bears celebration on the LSU sand.

Cal's No. 5 pair of Jenna Colligan and Mila Vugrincic got Cal going with a straight-set win during the first wave of matches. The Bears' No. 3 pair of Gia Fisher and Ava Haughy – the reigning MPSF Pair of the Week – kept pace with a 21-17, 18-21, 15-11 triumph.

It marked the highest ranked opponent the Bears have beaten since getting past No. 3 USC last March at the MPSF Midseason Rumble.

Donley/Sherman and Fisher/Haughy registered straight-set victories over Georgia State to help the Bears to the victory in their first dual of the day. Cal went 3-1 for the weekend, with its only loss coming to No. 6 Florida State.

The Bears are now off until they host the Cal Classic on April 3-4 at the Clark Kerr Sand Courts.

 
No. 9 California 4, Georgia State 1
No. 1: Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) def. Savannah Ebarb/Bella Troncale, 21-15, 22-20
No. 2: Grace Hong/Marilu Pally (Cal) def. Michaela Jefferson/Danica Singleton, 21-13, 21-13
No. 3: Gia Fisher/Ava Haughy (Cal) def. Kealy Dimer/Ella Mozeleski, 21-16, 21-12
No. 4: Noa Nuez/Adeline Thompson (GSU) def. Elle Evers/Savanna Lau, 21-16, 22-20
No. 5: Jenna Colligan/Sofia Williams (Cal) def. Kaylie Drysdale/Ellie Neville, 21-15, 17-21, 15-12

No. 9 California 3, No. 4 Texas 2
No. 1: Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) def. Brecht Piersma/Katie Hashman, 15-21, 21-19, 19-17
No. 2: Emma Grace Robertson/Lily Davis (Tex) def. Marilu Pally/Grace Hong, 27-25, 21-16
No. 3: Gia Fisher/Ava Haughy (Cal) def. Macey Butler/Devin Kahahawai, 21-17, 18-21, 15-11
No. 4: Eva Lisa Kulvonen/Chloe Charles (Tex) def. Elle Evers/Sofia Williams, 21-14, 21-13
No. 5: Mila Vugrincic/Jenna Colligan (Cal) def. Vivian Johnson/Karin Zolnercikova, 21-18, 21-18
 

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