Bears Set To Host Arizona, No. 25 Arizona State

The Bears will battle against two talented squads this weekend at Haas Pavilion.

VB9/27/2023 4:15 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Cal Looks For First Pac-12 Win

BERKELEY – California volleyball will look to earn its first Pac-12 win this weekend at Haas Pavilion, hosting Arizona on Friday night at 7 p.m. PT and No. 25 Arizona State on Sunday at noon.
 
The Golden Bears (11-2, 0-2 Pac-12) rank fifth in the country in opponent hitting percentage, having held foes to just .136 through their first 13 matches. They also stand at 24th nationally with 13.81 kills per set and 25th with 12.83 assists per set.

“We’re feeling pretty good in the gym right now, and we see these upcoming matches as a great test to how well we can bounce back after dropping our first two Pac-12 matches,” said interim head coach Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd. 

 

Cal is 27-47 against the Wildcats (5-8, 0-2 Pac-12) and 34-40 against the Sun Devils (14-0, 2-0 Pac-12) all-time. Both Arizona and Arizona State are led by new head coaches this year in Charita Stubbs and JJ Van Niel, respectively.

 

The Wildcats took No. 7 Washington State to five sets this past Sunday. Outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz is one of Arizona’s top all-around players – she is first on the team with 173 kills and 15 aces, second with 110 digs and third with 26 total blocks. Setter Ana Heath joins her in the all-around category with a team-leading 460 assists (4th Pac-12) and 130 digs while also ranking second with 14 aces and fourth with 19 blocks.

 

The Sun Devils remain undefeated at 14-0 on the season, including conference wins over Arizona (3-0) and Washington (3-1). Arizona State has the top team hitting percentage in the nation (.343) and also ranks among the top 10 in service aces per set (2.41), total aces (111) and opponent hitting percentage (.143). Senior Marta Levinska is the Sun Devils’ top offensive threat, having earned consecutive Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week awards and ranking in the NCAA’s top 50 in points per set, kills per set, service aces per set and total kills.

 

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 three-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week winner. She earned Cal’s…