The California Black Bears kicked off Championship Court action at the Edward Jones MLP Mid-Season Tournament with a DreamBreaker victory over the Bay Area Breakers.

The Black Bears went into the second mixed doubles game needing a win to stay alive, and Layne Sleeth/Michael Loyd delivered with an 11-4 triumph over Alix Truong/Collin Johns.

Truong/Johns won this particular matchup 11-8 when these teams faced off last week at MLP New York, but Sleeth/Loyd turned the tide in Grand Rapids.

“Layne hit a lot of balls. When Layne’s hitting a lot of balls and I’m trusting her I think we do really, really well,” Loyd said of Wednesday’s success. “She’s so solid, and I just trust her to set me up.”

California went on to dominate the DreamBreaker, with Loyd outscoring Johns 6-2 though two rotations and Lina Padegimaite beating Angie Walker by the same score line to help lift the Black Bears to a 21-11 win.

Up next for the No, 5 seeds is clash against the top-seeded Las Vegas Night Owls, who swept the College All-Star team earlier Wednesday morning on Grandstand Court.

Las Vegas won the most recent matchup against California 22-20 in a DreamBreaker, so the Black Bears will be looking for revenge with a spot in the Challenger level finals on the line.

“In our last match with Vegas, they barely beat us out by two points in the DreamBreaker, so we know we’re capable of getting a win,” Loyd noted. “We’ve gotta go back and look at some of those matches, look at what we did well, and just bring our ‘A’ game.”

That match will take place later Wednesday afternoon.