Cal Opens Conference Play With Big Spike

VB9/20/2022 6:12 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Bears Face No. 5 Stanford, Oregon State This Week

BERKELEY – California volleyball (7-3) begins Pac-12 play this week with a bang, taking on No. 5 Stanford in the Big Spike on Wednesday, Sept. 21 before heading to Oregon State on Friday, Sept. 23.

The former match, which will be hosted at Haas Pavilion, is scheduled to commence at 8:00 p.m. PT on Wednesday. Stanford (5-3) faced a brutal start to its season that included losses to No. 1 Texas, No. 20 Penn State and No. 3 Louisville as well as wins over No. 13 Florida, No. 3 Minnesota and No. 2 Nebraska. The Cardinal currently lead the series against the Bears by a margin of 81-13; they currently rank 10^th in the nation with 2.82 blocks per set.

Cal’s matchup against Oregon State (5-5) will take place at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore., and is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m on Friday. Currently, the Beavers lead the conference with 15.51 digs per set, also outpacing the Bears in digs (605) and total attacks (1355); however, their team hitting percentage of .190 ranks last in the Pac-12. The Bears currently lead the series between the two teams, 50-29.

“This team is showing real progress – the specific skills and techniques that we spent time on during this past spring are starting to show more frequently in matches,” said head coach Sam Crosson. “I think our team chemistry is one area that this group excels at. They really enjoy being around one another, playing for each other and cheering for each other’s success on the court.”

 

START ‘EM YOUNG

After Week Four, Cal boasts the Pac-12’s top two blocking freshmen in Sophie Scott and Mikayla Hayden. Both have started every match for the Golden Bears so far this season and currently rank No. 5 (37.0 total blocks) and No. 6 (36.0 total blocks), respectively, among all Pac-12 players. No other program boasts two players among the NCAA’s top 15 freshmen in blocks per set (Hayden No. 5, Scott No. 12), while only Cal and Northwestern State boast multiple entries in the NCAA’s top 20 freshmen in total blocks (Hayden No. 11, Scott No. 16).

 

LYDIA LEADS

Junior Lydia Grote has posted a fantastic start to the season, accumulating 158 kills across 10 games for the Pac-12’s second-highest total thus far. Grote also leads the Pac-12 in points (187.0) and points per set (4.92, 21st NCAA), as well as ranking third in kills per set (4.16, 30th in the nation). Her play in Week Two of the…