MOLTEN CLASSIC
HAAS PAVILION | BERKELEY, CALIF.
*All times Pacific Time
 
FRIDAY, AUG. 24
Cal vs. Chicago State| 10 a.m.
Rutgers vs. Colgate | 12:30 p.m.
Chicago State vs. Colgate | 5 p.m.
Cal vs Rutgers | 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

SATURDAY, AUG. 25
Chicago State vs. Rutgers | 11 a.m.
Cal vs. Colgate | 1:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
 
 
 
BERKELEY – The California volleyball team opens the 2018 season this weekend hosting the Molten Classic at Haas Pavilion. And, while the Golden Bears see Chicago State and Rutgers for the programs' first-ever matchups and Colgate for the first time since 1996, they are also are ready to showcase their own seven newcomers and a fresh, but familiar face to lead the program.
 
After serving as the interim head coach for four games in 2017, Jennifer Dorr will get her official head coaching debut on Friday against the Cougars. Dorr has been with the program since 2009 when she began as the director of ops before being promoted to assistant coach in 2011.
 
With just a pair of seniors in Carmen Annevelink and Mackenzie Albrecht to lead the charge, the Bears will look to its underclassmen to contribute as well. Annevelink and sophomore Mima Mirkovic accounted for nearly 40 percent of Cal's kills a season ago. Adding to the depth at the net is another senior-sophomore tandem in Albrecht and Cal's 2017 assists leader sophomore Isabel Potter  who recorded more than 85 percent of the team's assists a season ago.
 
"We've had an intense off season and preseason where we talked about the commitment that it takes to be excellent," Dorr said. "The team has done it without complain and I feel grateful for that.
 
"They've been buying into the culture change and it started with the team being here before school started," she continued. "The voluntary training sessions really helped the freshmen and then during preseason we've done what we call 'Volley 101 Sessions' where we treated learning the sport like a classroom. We also did some team building exercises with team psychologist and all of these things helped the team gel."
 
Headlines
Cal Opens the Dorr
The Bears will have a new body in their front chair as Jennifer Dorr opens her collegiate head coaching career in the 2018 season. Dorr, a former standout setter at Hawai'i, is a familiar face around the program after joining Cal's staff under legendary coach Rich Feller in 2009 as the Director of Operations. In 2011, the Newport Beach, Calif., native, was promoted to assistant coach for the Bears and contributed to three NCAA Tournament appearances, three top-10 recruiting classes, four All-America honors, 15 All-Pac-12 selections, the 2011 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, 40 Pac-12 All-Academic selections, and three CoSIDA Academic All-District picks. Dorr, who is married to former Cal All-American swimmer John Dorr, is a mom of two twin girls Lily and Piper and raises them in the same manner in which she was raised, on the volleyball courts.
 
SAVSTRONG
Cal middle blocker Savannah Rennie is once again ready to take the court after battling another serious medical condition. Rennie made her college debut in 2016 after sitting out her freshman season because of a liver transplant. She went on to play in 12 matches that year, but was sidelined again last season after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Post-Transplant Lymphoma. Rennie went through treatments and returned in time for spring workouts last semester. Rennie came to Cal as the No. 20 "Senior Ace" by PrepVolleyball.com
 
Carmen Continues at Cal
Senior outside hitter Carmen Annevelink, who earns it in the classroom, just as much as she has on the court, opted to remain with the Bears and complete her collegiate playing eligibility this season. The integrative biology major finished her required credits to graduate in the spring of 2018, but was not ready to walk away from the court so soon. A two-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection, Annevelink returns as one of Cal's kills leaders from last year, tied for the second-most kills on the team with sophomore Mima Mirkovic, recording 264 kills apiece in 2017.
 
Seven Newcomers
The 2018 roster lists seven new names, six which are freshman and one junior college transfer. Freshmen include recently named starting setter Jade Blevins (Laguna Beach, Calif.), Bella Bergmark (Larkspur, Calif.), Gabby Bellizzi (Ladera Ranch, Calif.), Jessica Houghton (Menlo Park, Calif.) who comes from a family of Stanford graduates, Makana Meyer (Burbank, Calif.), and Darian Clark (Phoenix, Ariz.) who ranked among the top 250 recruits in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com and was a three-time AVCA Phenom pick. The Bears also welcome junior Morgan Wright (Wheatland, Calif.), a transfer from West Valley College. An All-Coast Conference selection while at West Valley, Wright is one of two walk-ons, along with Houghton.
 
Scouting Chicago State

• Fourth-year CSU volleyball coach Brandon Reeves returns eight letterwinners and six starters from last season's team that includes senior OH Lauryn Dela Cruz, junior MB Alexandria Cliff and junior L/DS Megan Klavitter.
• Dela Cruz comes back for her senior season after leading the WAC with an average of 4.08 kills per set last year, while sophomore setter Lacee Adams led the league in assists after dishing out 10.38 helpers a set.

 
Scouting Rutgers

• The Scarlet Knights return seven, losing just one starter from 2017 as head coach Jeff "CJ" Werneke opens his 11th season
• Rutgers were winless in Big Ten competition, finishing last year with a 5-27 overall record
• Among the seven returners, the Scarlet Knights bring back their kills leader, sophomore Kamila Cieslik

 
Scouting Colgate

• The Raiders return a host of experience after losing just three players from the 2017 season and bringing back 13 members, including four starters and a libero that led the team to an 18-11 record

Among the returnees is Colgate kills leader Alli Lowe who recorded 407 kills a year ago, but the Raiders suffered a key loss in assists leader Lauren Sanderson (1133) who accounted for nearly 85 percent of the teams assists