BEAR NECESSITIES: CAL'S TOP STORYLINES, STREAKS & TRENDS

 

SENIOR DAY
It will be an emotional afternoon at Haas Pavilion on Wednesday when the program honors Maddy Kerr, Alyssa Jensen, Jenelle Jordan, Sabrina Blackwell and Laura Leap for their contributions to the Cal volleyball program. Kerr, Jensen, Jordan and Blackwell are all seniors set to graduate while Leap is only a junior but will be earning her degree in 3 1/2 years in May. The seniors and their respective families will be honored during a special ceremony just prior to the beginning of Wednesday's match against Oregon State.

BEARS ADD THREE IN THE FALL
The Cal volleyball program signed two student-athletes to a National Letter of Intent during the NCAA early signing period and a third to a financial aid agreement. All there prospects were ranked in the top-75 on PrepVolleyball.com's "Senior Ace" list and all three were named Under Armour All-Americans. Middle blocker Preslie Anderson of Chandler, Ariz. is the No. 38 Senior Ace nationally and a Second Team Under Armour All-American while fellow middle blocker Lauren Forte comes in at No. 43 on the Senior Ace list and also made the Under Armour Second Team. Meanwhile, outside hitter Mima Mirkovic of Irvine, the No. 72 Senior Ace in the country, will enroll early at Cal this spring after signing a financial aid agreement. She was an Under Armour All-American Third Team pick.

KERR MAKES MARK IN CLASSROOM
Senior Maddy Kerr continues to rake in academic honors. Earlier this month, she became the fifth Cal volleyball student-athlete in history to receive CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition, which also makes her eligible to earn CoSIDA Academic All-American honors. Cal is part of District 8, which is made up of institutions from Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai'i, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Canada. Last year, Kerr became just the second Cal volleyball student-athlete ever to earn Pac-12 All-Academic First Team honors last season. Kerr has a cumulative GPA of 3.76 while double-majoring in Media Studies and Rhetoric. She was Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention as a sophomore.

KERR LEAVING LIBERO LEGACY
Senior libero Maddy Kerr has played in every set the Bears have played since setting foot on campus as a freshman, and is second on Cal's all-time digs list with 1,745. In each of her first three seasons in Berkeley, Kerr's dig total ranked among the top-10 in Cal history. She also shares the school record for digs in a match with 33.

JENSEN JOINS 3,000 CLUB
During the Bears' match against Arizona State on Oct. 14, senior setter Alyssa Jensen became the sixth student-athlete in Cal history to record 3,000 assists in a career. The three-year starter now has 3,320 as a Golden Bear, which ranks sixth on Cal's all-time list. Jensen, who has missed the past four matches with a foot injury,  currently ranks third in the Pac-12 with 10.47 assists per set . Her 64-assist effort in a five-set win over Northeastern on Sept. 3 is is the most in any match by a Pac-12 player this season. 

ABOUT OREGON STATE
• JR Mary-Kate Marshall is 4th in the Pac-12 in kills/set (3.93) tied for 8th in aces/set (0.23)
• Beavers have won last four vs. Cal, but Bears lead all-time series 47-22
• Oregon St. is under first-year coach Mark Barnard
• LAST MEETING: OSU d. Cal, 3-0 (11-6-15)    

ABOUT NO. 12 STANFORD
• Cardinal has won eight of past nine matches
• SR Inky Ajanaku is second in the Pac-12 in hitting percentage (.391) and blocks (1.49/set)
• FR Kathryn Plummer is reigning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the week
• LAST MEETING: Stanford d. Cal 3-1 (9-20-16)