Volleyball Concludes Non-Conference Play This Week

VB9/14/2022 5:31 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Bears Will Face Gaels In Moraga And Aggies At Haas

BERKELEY – California volleyball (5-3) closes out non-conference play this week with two familiar foes: the Saint Mary’s Gaels (3-4) and the UC Davis Aggies (5-4), both of whom faced the Golden Bears just last season.
 
Cal and Saint Mary’s will face off on Thursday, Sept. 15, at University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga at 6:00 p.m. PT. The Bears hold an all-time record of 21-3 against the Gaels, with their last meeting in 2021 resulting in a 3-0 Cal victory.

The Aggies, meanwhile, will play at Haas Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 17. Cal has not beaten UC Davis since 2010, but holds a 6-4 advantage in the all-time record against the Aggies. In the two teams’ 2021 meeting, UC Davis triumphed with a final score of 3-1.

Currently, the Bears rank third in the Pac-12 in both total digs (447) and digs per set (14.9). They are fourth in total blocks (77), total attacks (1044) and opponent hitting percentage (.145).

 

START ‘EM YOUNG

After Week Three, 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. From a blocking standpoint, the duo is higher-ranked than any other freshman pair in the nation.

 

LYDIA LEADS

Junior Lydia Grote has posted a fantastic start to the season, accumulating 130 kills across 8 games for the Pac-12’s second-highest total thus far. Grote also leads the Pac-12 in points per set (5.0) and kills per set (4.33); she is currently second in the conference in total points with 151.0. Grote/’s play in Week Two of the season earned her All-Utah Valley Tournament honors.

 

USA VOLLEYBALL TAKES NOTICE

Juniors Lydia Grote and Leah Schmidt participated in the 2022 USA Volleyball National Team Open Program on Feb. 25-27, scoring invitations after stellar sophomore seasons. Grote’s 2021 campaign included a 21-kill game (vs. Utah, Oct. 17) and a 15-kill, .344-hitting percentage outing against Washington State (Nov. 11). Schmidt, meanwhile, was named to the 2021 All-Tulane Tournament team and subsequently posted the third-most kills on the team (200) during the season as one of Cal’s most prolific players.

 

MAEDER’S MARK

Sophomore Annalea Maeder looks to build upon a fantastic freshman…