Cal Will Take On Utah Tech, Tennessee State and Nevada
BERKELEY – California volleyball (3-2) will compete at home for the first time this season on Sept. 9-10 as it hosts the Cal Tournament, concluding its slate of tournament play at Haas Pavilion as conference matchups rapidly approach.
Sept. 9 will feature matches against Utah Tech (3-1) at 12:30 p.m. PT and Tennessee State (1-4) at 7:00 p.m. The Bears will finish play with a match against Nevada (3-3) the next day, Sept. 10, at 2:30 p.m.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bears and the Trailblazers, as well as between the Bears and the Tigers. Currently, Cal holds a 12-4 series record with Nevada, including a 3-0 sweep of the Wolf Pack in last year’s Cal Tournament. Nevada currently ranks seventh in the NCAA with 39.13 team attacks per set.
Following the Utah Valley Tournament last weekend, juniors Lydia Grote and Tara DeSa were named to the All-UVU Tournament Team. The former leads the Pac-12 in points (108.5), points per set (5.71) and kills per set (4.79), while the latter ranks second in the conference in digs per set (3.95).
“This past weekend, I thought the team improved on consistency in our execution of the game,” said head coach Sam Crosson. “Both of our middle blockers were more involved offensively, which is great to see; Tara (DeSa) also had a solid weekend with her passing and defensive plays – those stats are trending upward, which will certainly create more quality series for us.
“Overall, it was great to see our team respond after the loss on Thursday and hit for one of our highest and most consistent offensive efficiencies we have had so far this season,” he finished. “We’ll be looking to continue to improve in our consistency with serving, receiving, passing and floor defense this weekend.”
Tickets will only be required for Friday’s matches.
LYDIA LEADS
Junior Lydia Grote has posted a fantastic start to the season, accumulating 91 kills across 5 games for the Pac-12’s second-highest total thus far. She is currently ninth in the nation with 5.71 points per set, a figure which leads the conference. Grote also leads the Pac-12 in points (108.5) and kills per set (4.79), earning All-Utah Valley Tournament Team honors after her play last weekend.
USA VOLLEYBALL TAKES NOTICE
Juniors Lydia Grote and Leah Schmidt participated in the 2022 USA Volleyball National Team Open…
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