Stephen K Woo
Cal faces a pair of strong defensive teams in Boston College and NC State.
BERKELEY – California volleyball will play two more matches at home this weekend, hosting Boston College at 7 p.m. PT Friday and Syracuse at 7 p.m. Saturday. These will be the first meetings in history between the Golden Bears (9-7, 1-3 ACC) and either team, with both opponents looking for their first ACC win this year. Both matches will be broadcast on ACCNX.
Last weekend, Cal was swept by Wake Forest before notching its first ACC victory over NC State in straight sets, holding the Wolfpack to their lowest hitting percentage of the year. In both matches, sophomore Xuemeng (Maggie) Li led both teams in kills, while junior Natalie Lau recorded her sixth double-double of the year against Wake Forest and reached 400 assists on the season with 34 against NC State. Defensively, the Bears had three players – Lau (15), Sophia Johnson (12) and Gianna Bartalo (11) – post double-digit digs against Wake Forest, while the NC State match saw three Cal women post five-or-more blocks (Sawyer Thomsen – 6; Ellie Hamm – 5; Kate Mansfield – 5).
Vs. Boston College (7-9, 0-4)
Last Meeting: None
All-Time Record: 0-0
The Eagles have lost their last six games but also bear the distinctive honor of being the only team this year to win a set against No. 1 Pitt, whom they faced last Friday. Their stout defense, which has held opponents to a combined .180 on the year and is second in the ACC with 3.11 blocks per set (3.06 in conference play), is commanded by Julia Haggerty, the nation’s leader in both total blocks and blocks per set. The senior has a combined 114 stops on the year (42 in ACC play), averaging 2.07 per set (2.33 in conference matchups). Offensively, Boston College is led by sophomore Halle Schroder’s 209 kills and 20 service aces.
Vs. Syracuse (12-4, 0-4)
Last Meeting: None
All-Time Record: 0-0
The Orange posted an undefeated 12-0 nonconference slate but have lost their last four matches. They have held their opponents to a combined .169 on the year, averaging 2.54 blocks per set as a team (49th in the NCAA) with 2.08 per set in conference play; they also average 1.95 service aces per set, 19th-best in the nation. Junior Anastasiia Nikolnikova, who transferred to Syracuse this year from Southern Idaho,…
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