HUNTINGTON BEACH- The fourth-seeded California beach volleyball team was defeated in heartbreaking fashion by No. 3 seed USC 3-2 Friday at the inaugural MPSF Championship in Huntington Beach.
 
The Golden Bears (27-9) took the four-time reigning national champion Trojans (25-9) all the way down to the final set of the elimination match, which featured two three-set battles and four sets that went to extra points. USC outlasted Cal with a three-set win on court five to even the season series at 1-1 and advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament.
 
After USC claimed court four, Cal's court one pair of sophomore Emma Donley and junior Portia got the Bears on the board with its 27th victory of the season, which tied the program's single-season pair wins record.
 
The Trojans answered with a two-set win at the No. 2 spot to retake the lead but once again Cal was there to quickly even the dual. This time it was the court-three pair of seniors Alexandria Young-Gomez and Ella Sears, which after falling in the first set bounced back to win the next two to keep its team alive.
 
The dual came down to the fifth court where senior Ella Dreibholz and junior Jenna Colligan won the first set in extra points, but lost the second frame, which also went to extras. With the match and the MPSF Championship on the line, USC came out firing in the third set and never looked back to win the dual and advance to the next round.
 
Cal now has its sights set on Sunday's NCAA Selection Show, which airs at 10 a.m. PT on NCAA.com, to see if it will be headed to its fourth straight NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
 
#3 USC - 3, #4 Cal - 0
1. Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) def. Madison White/Zoey Henson (USC) 21-13, 21-18
2. Ashley Pater/Kennedy Coakley (USC) def. Gia Fisher/Sierra Caffo (Cal) 26-24, 21-18
3. Ella Sears/Alexandria Young-Gomez (Cal) def. Maya Gessner/Mabyn Thomas (USC) 18-21, 26-24, 15-9
4. Delaney Karl/Ella Larkin (USC) def. Marilu Pally/Maile Somera (Cal) 21-10, 21-13
5. Madison Goeliner/Kaleigh Truslow (USC) vs. def. Jenna Colligan/Ella Dreibholz (Cal) 22-24, 22-20, 15-10
Order of finish: 4, 1, 2, 3, 5