BERKELEY – The No. 8 California beach volleyball team closed out its opening weekend at the Clark Kerr Sand Courts Saturday with another pair of 5-0 wins, dropping just one set in victories over Saint Mary's and Santa Clara.

Cal 5, Saint Mary's 0
The Golden Bears (4-0) got out to a fast start to the day as their first two pairs flew through their opening sets. Sophomore Portia Sherman and junior Ella Dreibholz started with a 21-11 win. After falling behind 13-8 in set two, they quickly rallied and pulled away late to take it 21-17.

Across the way, junior Ella Sears and freshman Kendall Peters cruised to a 21-12 opening-set victory before dropping set two 24-22. They broke a 9-9 tie in the decisive third set with three straight points, closing out the Bears' first nailbiter of the season with a 15-12 win.

Kicking off the next set of matches, sophomore duo Marilu Pally and Gia Fisher rallied from five points down in set one and never looked back, claiming a 21-17, 21-9 victory. Senior Brooke Buchner and graduate student Lara Boos broke out of a pair of close sets, holding off a pair of SMU (1-1) comeback attempts in a 21-19, 21-16 sweep.

The No. 1 pair of Emma Donley and Alexandria Young-Gomez finished things off with a dominant 21-10, 21-13 win in the final match against the Gaels.

1 Emma Donley and Alexandria Young-Gomez (CAL) def. Sedona Sherman and Sadie Shipman (SMU)  21-10, 21-13
2 Marilu Pally and Gia Fisher (CAL) def. Hannah Couch and Hawley Harrer (SMU) 21-17, 21-9
3 Brooke Buchner and Lara Boos (CAL) def. Allie Cataldo and Angie Bour (SMU) 21-19, 21-16
4 Portia Sherman and Ella Dreibholz (CAL) def. Karmin Brown and AJ Slojkowski (SMU) 21-11, 21-17
5 Ella Sears and Kendall Peters (CAL) def. Paola Peralta and Nya Crump (SMU) 21-12, 22-24, 15-12

Order of finish: 4 5 2 3 1

No. 8 Cal 5, Santa Clara 0
In their afternoon matchup with the Broncos (0-2), the Bears comfortably handled every set by at least four points. Pally and Fisher went 21-8, 21-17 while Sherman and Dreibholz won 21-15, 21-17.

None of the Bears' final three pairs gave up more than 13 points in a set. Donley and Young-Gomez won set one 21-13 and finished things off on a cheeky bump winner to take set two 21-11. Sophomores Amelia Vugrincic and Jenna Colligan jumped out to 16-6 leads in both sets en route to a 21-13, 21-11 victory. Buchner and Boos ended the day with wins of 21-12 and 21-9.

1 Emma Donley and Alexandria Young-Gomez (CAL) def. Katie Kishton and Elena Radeff (SCU) 21-13, 21-11
2 Marilu Pally and Gia Fisher (CAL) def. Ella Duffner and Noelle Niederman (SCU) 21-8, 21-17
3 Brooke Buchner and Lara Boos (CAL) def. Casey Campbell and Sveva Munneke (SCU) 21-12, 21-12
4 Portia Sherman and Ella Dreibholz (CAL) def. Jordan Bennett and Hailey Benesz (SCU) 21-15, 21-17
5 Amelia Vugrincic and Jenna Colligan (CAL) def. Alexie Epstein and Alexia Gallegos (SCU) 21-12, 21-9

Order of finish: 2 4 1 5 3 

Up Next
The Bears will head south next weekend for their road openers in the Battle For L.A. at Mapes Beach. Cal takes on UCLA and Cal Poly on Friday, March 1. The following day, the Bears face Concordia University Irvine and Loyola Marymount.

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