Cal will look to pick up a pair of conference wins this weekend against longtime foes UCLA and USC.
Cal Hosts “Dig Pink” Match On Friday
BERKELEY – California volleyball will look to get back in the Pac-12 win column this weekend as it returns home to Haas Pavilion, hosting UCLA on Friday night at 7 p.m. PT and USC on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Golden Bears (12-5, 1-5 Pac-12) are 9-27 against the Bruins (9-7, 1-5 Pac-12) and 12-68 against the Trojans (11-5, 5-1 Pac-12) all-time. They last defeated UCLA in 2018 and USC in 2014.
UCLA has a 5-4 record on the road but is on a three-game losing streak. As a team, the Bruins rank 22nd in the NCAA with 2.65 blocks per set and second in the Pac-12 with 158 total blocks under new head coach Alfee Reft. Cal will keep an eye on senior Anna Dodson, who has the fifth-highest hitting percentage in the conference (.377) and ranks sixth with 73 total blocks, as well as graduate transfer Desiree Becker, who leads the team with 74 blocks.
USC is just 3-5 on the road this season but is nearly undefeated in conference play, with its only loss coming to then-No. 23 Arizona State last week in five sets. The Trojans rank 23rd in the NCAA with 12.75 assists per set and 40th with 13.48 kills per set on a .270 team hitting percentage (24th NCAA). Two-time AVCA All-American Skylar Fields is one of the best outside hitters in the nation this year, ranking among the NCAA’s top-10 players in no fewer than six offensive categories, while junior Mia Tuaniga has been a steady presence at setter with 10.03 assists per set (45th NCAA).
Friday night’s match is Cal’s annual “Dig Pink” game, in which the team partners with the Side-Out Foundation to raise funding for metastatic breast cancer research. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match and help the program reach its $2,000 fundraising goal at the Dig Pink page.
The first 500 fans to arrive for Sunday’s match will receive a free water bottle. Cal will be hosting a team autograph session on the court after the game.
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…
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