MALIBU – The No. 9 California beach volleyball team split its final two matches of the Pepperdine Challenge Saturday afternoon sweeping the host Waves before falling to No. 10 Long Beach State 3-2.
 
The Golden Bears (3-1), who did not lose a single set yesterday, opened the final day of the tournament with their third-straight 5-0 sweep winning all but one set against Pepperdine. Sophomore Emma Donley and junior Portia Sherman dropped the opening set of their court-one match but bounced back to win the first tiebreaker of the year for Cal.
 
Unfortunately, the schedule was not in the Bears' favor as they had to take on the Beach in the second of back-to-back games, and fourth in 24 hours, while LBSU played its season-opener.
 
Senior Alexandria Young-Gomez and junior Marilu Pally went 2-0 on the day with a pair of wins on court three and are now 10-0 as a pair. Graduate student Christine DeRoos and junior Jenna Colligan joined them as the only other duo to go 4-0 on the weekend with two wins in the fifth spot. The court-five pair dropped the opening set against the Beach but won the next two handedly to give DeRoos a victory over her old team.
 
Senior Ella Dreibholz picked up her 81st career win alongside senior Ella Sears as the two defeated the Waves in straight sets on court four. Dreibholz is now just one win away from tying her former teammate Ainsley Radell (82) for the second most victories in Cal history.
 
The Bears will now return to Berkeley for their home opener next weekend. Cal will serve as one of three host sites for Battle of the Bay as it welcomes Pacific, UC Davis, San Francisco, and Sacramento State to the Clark Kerr Courts.
 
No. 9 Cal - 5, Pepperdine - 0
1. Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) def. Kate Clermont/McKenna Thomas (PEPP) 17-21, 21-11, 15-13
2. Sierra Caffo/Gia Fisher (Cal) def. Madison Oriskovich/Emma Eden (PEPP) 21-14, 21-19
3. Marilu Pally/Alex Young-Gomez (Cal) def. Gabriella Perez/Marley Johnson (PEPP) 21-16, 21-13
4. Ella Sears/Ella Dreibholz (Cal) def. Emma Bubelis/Ella Foti (PEPP) 21-16, 21-15
5. Christine DeRoos/Jenna Colligan (Cal) def. Emi Erickson/Bella Avelar (PEPP) 21-7, 21-5Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 5
 
No. 10 Long Beach State - 3, No. 9 Cal - 2
1. Taylor Hagenah/Malia Gementera (LBSU) def. Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) 21-16, 21-15
2. Julia Westby/Skyler Germann (LBSU) def. Sierra Caffo/Gia Fisher (Cal) 21-15, 21-19
3. Marilu Pally/Alex Young-Gomez (Cal) def. Mo Gibson/Brooke Birch (LBSU) 21-12, 21-23, 15-12
4. Natalie Glenn/Savannah Standage (LBSU) def. Ella Sears/Ella Dreibholz (Cal) 24-22, 21-15
5. Christine DeRoos/Jenna Colligan (Cal) def. Megan Widener/Demi Wagdy (LBSU) 14-21, 21-14, 15-4
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 3, 1