A.C.E.

Attitude. Communication. Effort.

These areas were the focus on the first day of fall camp for California. A simple acronym for a team that is concentrating on the small things that become more significant as they get deeper into the season.

As Jennifer Dorr coordinated her first official fall practice as the Golden Bears head coach, she emphasized bringing the energy that can often be difficult with early mornings and preseason jitters.

"We like to use the acronym A.C.E. and as we get into the gym for the first day with all 19 there are going to be those nerves and that giddiness of practice getting started," said Dorr. "We want to control what we can control, which is having a positive attitude, communicating more than we need to and just showing effort on the ball.

"In our first drill the communication part was a little bit lacking, so I pulled in the squad and reminded them that's what we're focusing on and it got better as the practice went on," Dorr added.

With no music in the background, the Bears dug deep to start the season on a high note.

"I don't want our energy to be masked by music. I want to hear it from them," Dorr explained. "In a lot of different venues you might not have a band or they may be playing music you don't like, so we need to know how to create our own energy."

With seven newcomers, team captains – seniors Mackenzie Albrecht, Carmen Annevelink and junior Bailee Huizenga— felt confident that the team set the right tone early.

"Everyone was really enthusiastic and excited to get some reps in and touches," Albrecht said. "We were eager to get used to playing with the newcomers and to get back into the flow of things."

Annevelink and Huizenga shared those sentiments but added that it was nice to be back in the gym collectively after working individually during the summer.

"We're all really excited to be getting coached," Annevelink said. "We all had fun this summer doing our own thing and playing individually, but it's nice to get back into the gym with our coaches to get some more insight into how we can get better."

The newness of the season brings expected excitement, but the Bears are motivated by the revamped coaching staff and a fresh perspective.

"It's been fun playing with the new freshman and coaching staff," Huizenga added. "We're working on things we learned in spring and summer, but we're introducing new things to everyone as well."

The effort will undoubtedly continue from both a collective and individual standpoint as Cal prepares for its first match of the season on August 24 as it hosts Chicago State to open the Cal Molten Classic.

"We really want to work on individually getting one percent better each day, each practice in whatever area we're focusing on," Dorr said. "It is going to take a lot of learning, being open to change and being tough throughout the season.

"Tough and together is our motto for the season," she continued. "So we want to be tough to beat and we want to do it by sticking together."