Bears Face Oregon Schools – California Golden Bears Athletics

Cal volleyball will take aim at its first Pac-12 road win since 2019 this weekend.

VB10/18/2023 3:11 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Cal Meets No. 8 Ducks On Friday, Visits Beavers On Sunday

California volleyball hopes to maintain momentum from last Sunday’s big win over USC into this weekend’s road trip, which will feature a tough matchup with No. 8 Oregon on Friday in Eugene, Oregon, at 7 p.m. PT followed by a Sunday duel against Oregon State in Corvallis, Oregon, at noon.
 
The Golden Bears (13-6, 2-6 Pac-12) have an all-time record of 55-33 against the Ducks (16-3, 6-2 Pac-12), but Oregon has won the last seven matches in the series. Cal has not defeated a top-10 Oregon team since 2012. This year’s Oregon squad ranks among the nation’s top teams in no fewer than seven categories spanning both sides of the ball, including ranking seventh with 2.88 blocks per set. Oregon sophomore OH Mimi Colyer is Oregon’s top attacker, ranking in the NCAA’s top 50 in five categories. She is aided by senior S Hannah Pukis, the nation’s 10th-ranked setup woman with 10.82 assists per set. Meanwhile, senior MB Karson Bacon averages 1.39 blocks per set for the Ducks, a number that is outpaced by only 18 other players nationwide.
 
Cal holds a series advantage of 50-30 over the Beavers (7-11, 2-6 Pac-12), who are also on a significant winning streak of six games against the Bears. Although Oregon State is below .500, it is riding high off two straight Pac-12 wins, including a five-set thriller over then-No. 19 Arizona State. Senior OH Mychael Vernon is the reigning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after recording two double-doubles for the Beavs last weekend, while junior L Ryan White earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors after combining for 43 digs against the Arizona schools.
 
LI LEADS
Freshman outside hitter Maggie Li has already cemented her name in the Cal record books as she is the first player in program history to win Pac-12 honors in consecutive weeks, as well as the Bears’ first four-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. She earned Cal’s first Pac-12 weekly honor since 2019 – and its first rookie honor since 2018 – after the Bears’ first three matches of the season. Li totaled 34 kills and 27 digs with a .313 hitting percentage at the Army Invitational, earning her way onto the all-tournament team. The next week,…