STANFORD – The No. 9 California beach volleyball team lost a pair of matches in heartbreaking fashion Saturday evening to close out the MPSF Midseason Rumble at Stanford. After knocking off No. 3 USC yesterday, the Golden Bears gave No. 1 UCLA and No. 5 Stanford all they could handle but ultimately fell 3-2 in two contests that came down to the final set.
 
Cal (9-3) was once again tasked with playing back-to-back duals and was the only team that did so twice this weekend. After playing in five three-set matches yesterday, the Bears would be challenged with six more today including four sets that went to extra points.
 
The court-four pairing of junior Jenna Colligan and graduate student Christine DeRoos put the Bears up early with a straight-set win, but the top-ranked Bruins were quick to respond claiming court two in three sets to tie the dual.
 
The senior duo of Ella Sears and Ella Dreibholz went to extras in their first set but worked out a two-set victory at the fifth position to put Cal up 2-1. Once again, the Bruins answered with a strong third-set performance to take court three and tie the dual at 2-2 – leaving it up to the pairs on court one.
 
Junior Portia Sherman and sophomore Emma Donley battled with the top pair on the top team in the first set but fell in extras 23-21. With their backs against the wall the Bears rose to occasion with a 21-16 second-set win to force a third. The two pairs traded punches through the early points but a late 3-0 run granted the Bruins the win.
 
Despite the emotional and physical ware of that contest, Cal had to regroup and get right back on the sand for a rivalry match with the host Cardinal.
 
Stanford claimed the first point of the dual on court two, but once again Colligan and DeRoos answered the call and grinded out a three-set win on court four. They finished the weekend with a 3-1 record against four ranked teams. Donley and Sherman won their match on court one handily to put the Bears up 2-1 and close out their weekend with a 3-1 record as well.
 
Both remaining Cal pairs won their first sets but found themselves in tiebreakers after dropping the second frame. Sears and Dreibholz trailed by as many as four and battled back to push it to extra points but fell 19-17. Stanford's 3s pair outlasted the Bears 15-10 to claim the dual.
 
Cal will now prepare to take another quarter of ranked opponents next weekend at the East Meets West tournament in Manhattan Beach. The Bears face No. 7 Florida State and No. 14 Florida International on Friday before taking on No. 11 LSU and No. 13 Texas on Saturday.
 
No. 1 UCLA - 3, No. 9 Cal - 2
1. Perez/Boyd (UCLA) def. Donley/Sherman (Cal) 23-21, 16-21, 15-13
2. Brennan/Myszkowski (UCLA) def. Fisher/Caffo (Cal) 15-21, 21-19, 15-12
3. Brower/Alden (UCLA) def. Pally/Young-Gomez (Cal) 21-16, 18-21, 15-7
4. Colligan/DeRoos (Cal) def. Fernandez/Mathews (UCLA) 21-17, 21-18
5. Sears/Dreibholz (Cal) def. Hope/Okazaki (UCLA) 23-21, 21-18
Order of finish: 4, 2, 5, 3, 1
 
No. 5 Stanford - 3, No. 9 Cal - 2
1. Donley/Sherman (Cal) def. Rockwell/Sorra (STAN) 21-17, 21-16
2. Bell/Wilson (STAN) def. Gia Fisher and Sierra Caffo (Cal) 23-21, 21-16
3. Belardi/Jackson (STAN) def. Pally/Young-Gomez (Cal) 19-21, 21-12, 15-10
4. Colligan/DeRoos (CAL) def. Hoffman/Stowell (STAN) 21-17, 15-21, 15-11
5. Gusarova/Sharp (STAN) def. Sears/Dreibholz (Cal) 18-21, 21-14, 19-17
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 5, 3