NO. 11 CAL VS. No. 18 St. Mary's 
Saturday, March 23 | 10 A.M. PT | Clark Kerr Sand Courts | Berkeley, Calif.

NO. 11 CAL VS. UC Davis
Saturday, March 23 | 1 P.M. PT | Clark Kerr Sand Courts | Berkeley, Calif.

Now back on the mainland, the No. 12 Cal beach volleyball team will play host to No. 18 Saint Mary's and UC Davis on Saturday. Cal came in second at the Heineken Hawai'i Invitational last weekend. The Bears defeated Nebraska and Boise St. but lost to No. 6 Hawai'i on day one. After cruising past Boise St. again the semifinal on Sunday, Cal fell Hawai'i in the championship match after the No. 4 match went to extra points in the third set.

CAL TO HOST NO. 18 SAINT MARY'S AND UC DAVIS
The Bears will play host to a couple of Bay Area rivals this weekend as they welcome No. 18 Saint Mary's and UC Davis. This will be Cal's first competition of the year against Saint Mary's. The Bears and Gaels split their two meetings last year. Cal defeated UC Davis earlier this month, 5-0. 

CHALLENGING STRETCH FOR THE BEARS
Cal has reached a grueling stretch of the season in which it will play 10 of its next 13 matches against ranked opponents. Of those duals, six will be against Top-10 teams including matchups against both No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 USC. If Cal can hold its own against collegiate beach volleyball's best over the next month, the Bears will be in good position to compete for a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

BEARS GET 2ND PLACE AT HEINEKEN HAWAI'I INVITATIONAL
Despite not taking down Hawai'i, Cal can still be proud of its 2nd place finish at the Heineken Hawai'i Invitational. Cal defeated Nebraska and Boise St. on day one of the competition and then bested Boise St. again in the semifinal round. In all, Cal went 3-2 during its stay in Honolulu. 

CAL COMES EXCRUCIATINGLY CLOSE TO BEATING NO. 6 HAWAI'I TWICE
In group play and in the championship round, Cal came up just short of upsetting No. 6 Hawai'i. Both duals were tied 2-2 and came down to the No. 4 matches, which both went to extra points in the third sets. While Cal would have loved a couple of victories, the Bears spirited play shows that that they can play with the best teams in the nation.  
 
MIRKOVIC NAMED OUTSTANDING ATTACKER AT TOURNAMENT
Sophomore Mima Mirkovic's excellent showing in Hawai'i earned her the tournament's Outstanding Attacker award. Mirkovic, and her No. 1 pair partner Jordan Polo went 5-0 at the tournament. Cal's No. 5 pair of senior Mia Merino and junior Abby Waldburger also posted a perfect 5-0 record. 

ALL TIME HIGH RANKING BY DIG MAGAZINE
Another week, another all-time high ranking for Cal from DiG Magazine. The Bears are now slotted at No. 8 in the country by the volleyball periodical. Cal started the year at No. 11 in the country and has slowly but surely climbed the rankings as the season has progressed. The Bears are ranked No. 12 by the AVCA. 

ABOUT NO. 18 SAINT MARY'S
• The Gaels are riding a nine-match winning streak into their clash with Cal, including taking down No. 14 Stanford twice. 
• Cal and St. Mary's split their two meetings last year, with both matches being decided by a single point. 
• St. Mary's started the season unranked by the AVCA but has steadily climbed the ranks to its No. 18 position. 

ABOUT UC DAVIS
•This is the inaugural season for UC Davis beach volleyball and Saturday will represent the Aggies first trip to the Clark Kerr Sand Courts. 
•Cal defeated UC Davis 5-0 earlier this month. 
•UC Davis won their first two duals in program history against Sacramento State, but lost their only competitions against ranked teams, Cal and No. 14 Stanford.