The Bears hope to head into conference play undefeated after the next two matches.
Undefeated Bears Head To Reno For Wolf Pack Invitational
RENO, Nev. – California volleyball faces its final two nonconference foes of the regular season this weekend at the Wolf Pack Invitational, starting with a clash against Montana State on Friday at 11 a.m. PT and ending with a battle against host Nevada on Saturday at 1 p.m.
With a victory over the Bobcats (7-1), the undefeated Golden Bears (9-0) would match the program’s best start since 2019, when they kicked off the season with 10 straight wins. An additional victory against the Wolf Pack (3-6) would bring Cal to its best start since 2011’s undefeated streak of 13 matches.
The Bears are 3-1 all-time against Montana State, with their last meeting resulting in a 3-0 sweep for Cal at the 2005 Circus Circus/Molten Invitational in Reno. Although Montana State has just one loss to its name – a 3-1 defeat against Milwaukee – the Bobcats were unable to win a match in straight sets until last weekend with a 3-0 sweep over Seattle U. The Bobcats are not afraid to take swings at the net, ranking 20th in the NCAA with 37.25 attacks per set. Their offense is led by senior Kira Thomsen, who has won two of her four career Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week awards just this year. Among all NCAA players, she ranks ninth with 387 total attacks, 11th with 12.09 attacks per set, 15th with 4.47 kills per set and 16th with 143 total kills.
Cal has defeated Nevada in 12 of the two teams’ 17 matchups, although the Bears lost, 3-1, in their most recent meeting at the 2022 Cal Tournament. Despite their 3-6 record, the Wolf Pack light up the stats sheet, ranking 20th nationally as a team with 582 digs, 33rd with 84 blocks and 41st with 65 service aces. Outside hitters Sia LiiLii and Nicanora Clark each rank among the NCAA’s top-50 players in both kills and points, while middle blocker Jordan Schwartz (40 total blocks, 38th NCAA) and libero Hikialani Kaohelaulii (190 digs, seventh NCAA) anchor the defense.
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…
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