LOS ANGELES – Facing its first ranked opponents of the season, the No. 8 California beach volleyball team fell to No. 1 UCLA 4-1 and No. 18 Cal Poly 3-2 on the first day of the Battle For L.A.

No. 1 UCLA 4, No. 8 Cal 1
Against the nation's top ranked team, the Golden Bears (2-2) took the Bruins (6-3) to three sets in four out of five matchups.

After dropping the opening set 21-12, freshman Emma Donley and junior Alexandria Young-Gomez bounced back with a 21-11 win in set two, but came up just short in a 15-12 third-set defeat.

Finishing next on court four, graduate student Lara Boos and senior Brooke Buchner gave Cal its first win of the day by taking a pair of close sets in a 21-19, 11-21, 15-11 victory. The duos of sophomores Gia Fisher and Marilu Pally and sophomore Portia Sherman and Ella Dreibholz both forced third sets to close out the match, but weren't able to come away with wins.

1. Lexy Denaburg/Maggie Boyd (UCLA) def. Sierra Caffo/Kendall Peters (CAL) 21-18, 21-12
2. Devon Newberry/Peri Brennan (UCLA) def. Emma Donley/Alex Young-Gomez (CAL) 21-12, 11-21, 15-12
3. Tessa Van Winkle/Jaden Whitmarsh (UCLA) def. Marilu Pally/Gia Fisher (CAL) 21-19, 11-21, 15-11
4. Lara Boos/Brooke Buchner (CAL) def. Kenzie Brower/Jessie Smith (UCLA) 21-19, 15-21, 19-17
5. Natalie Myszkowski/Ensley Alden (UCLA) def. Portia Sherman/Ella Dreibholz (CAL) 21-17, 17-21, 15-9

Order of finish: 2 4 1 5 3

No. 18 Cal Poly 3, No. 8 Cal 2
The Bears' second match of the day went down to the wire, as they nearly came back from a 2-0 deficit before coming up a couple points short on court three.

Sherman and Dreibholz claimed Cal's best win of the day, going 21-16, 21-16 on court five.

In her season debut, senior Sierra Caffo joined graduate student Kendall Peters to earn a 16-21, 21-14, 15-12 win on court one to tie the match at 2-2. The final result came from Pally and Fisher court three, who also forced a third set but fell in the final set, 21-18, 17-21, 15-13.

1. Sierra Caffo/Kendall Peters (CAL) def. Ella Connor/Izzy Martinez (CP) 16-21, 21-14, 15-12
2. Piper Ferch/Erin Inskeep (CP) def. Emma Donley/Alex Young-Gomez (CAL) 21-16, 21-19
3. Lindsey Sparks/Quinn Perry (CP) def. Marilu Pally/Gia Fisher (CAL) 18-21, 21-17, 15-13
4. Logan Walter/Piper Naess (CP) def. Lara Boos/Brooke Buchner (CAL) 21-18, 21-12
5. Ella Dreibholz/Portia Sherman (CAL) def. Abbey Reinard/Madison Nichols (CP) 21-16, 21-16

Order of finish: 4 2 5 1 3

Up Next
Cal closes out the week with two more matches tomorrow against Concordia University Irvine at noon PT and Loyola Marymount at 2 p.m. at the LMU Beach Volleyball Courts.

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