No. 20 CAL vs OREGON
Friday, Nov. 1 | 7:00 PM  | Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, Calif. | Pac-12 Networks

No. 20 CAL vs OREGON STATE
Saturday, Nov. 2 | 7:00 PM  | Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, Calif. | Live Stream

BERKELEY - The Bears open the second half of Pac-12 play this weekend, hosting Oregon and Oregon State at Haas Pavilion. No. 20 California has won 17 of its first 20 matches in 2019, a year after winning only 15 total matches in 2018.   

Tied for second-place in the Pac-12 at the halfway point at 7-3, the Bears have equaled the total number of conference wins from last season. California is set for a back-to-back this week, facing Oregon at 7 p.m. on Friday on the Pac-12 Networks and Oregon State at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Haas Pavilion. The Bears earned their first win at Oregon since 2012 with a 3-0 sweep over the then-No. 25 Ducks on Oct. 6 at Matthew Knight Arena and Cal leads the all-time series, 53-25. California defeated Oregon State 3-0 in Gill Coliseum on Oct. 4, and holds a 49-25 advantage in the all-time series with the Beavers.

MIMA MANIA
Cal junior Mima Mirkovic was named the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week, the AVCA office announced on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Mirkovic led the No. 15 Bears to two five-set victories over No. 18 Utah and Colorado, tallying two consecutive double-doubles, including 19 kills and a season-high 20 digs in Sunday's win over the Buffaloes. Mirkovic was also named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, the second time Cal has won the award after senior middle blocker Savannah Rennie earned the recognition in week one. This is the sixth Sports Imports/AVCA Player of the Week honor all-time for California and first since Carli Lloyd on Oct. 26, 2010. Mirkovic becomes the fourth Bear to earn the recognition, joining Mia Jerkov (Oct. 21, 2002; Oct. 13, 2003) Lloyd (Oct. 21, 2008; Oct. 26, 2010) and Hana Cutura (Oct. 27, 2009).

1K CLUB
Mirkovic is approaching a milestone in her career at Cal. Heading into the weekend, the junior has tallied 917 kills in her first three seasons, 83 kills short of reaching 1,000 in her career. Mirkovic will become the 17th Cal volleyball player to record 1,000 career kills. Hana Cutura is the Golden Bear all-time leader with 2,004 kills from 2006-2009.   

LEADING BEAR
Junior middle blocker Preslie Anderson is making a name for herself in 2019. The Chandler, Ariz., native currently sits 17th in the country with a .413 hitting percentage clip, tallying a season-high 13 kills in the win over Washington State on Sept. 28 while adding 11 kills against then-No. 1 Stanford on Sept. 26 to give her 24 kills in the opening weekend of conference play.   

KEEP CLIMBING
The Bears enter week nine with a national ranking for the seventh consecutive week, checking in at No. 20 in the AVCA Coaches Poll after reeling off 17 wins in the first 20 matches to begin the season. California was No. 15 in week eight and seven, No. 16 in week six, No. 19 in week five, No. 21 in week four and week three marked the first time Cal was ranked in the poll since Nov. 18, 2013, when the Bears checked in at No. 23. After not receiving a single vote in the preseason version, California received votes in both the week one and week two rankings before breaking into the Top 25 in week three.  

GETTING DEFENSIVE 
Not only are the Bears getting it done on the offensive end, the Cal defense is making its presence known as well. Opponents are hitting just .174 this season in matches against California, currently the second-best mark in the conference. The Bears have held five opponents below a .100 hitting percentage in matches so far in 2019.

TEAM EFFORT
Led by Anderson (.413, 17th) and redshirt senior Savannah Rennie (.372) the Bears are fifth in the country and first in the Pac-12 in team hitting percentage through the first six weeks of the season. California is currently hitting .293 as a squad, trailing just No. 3 Baylor (.298, fourth), No. 23 Western Ky. (.298, third) No. 24 Missouri (.317, second) and No. 1 Texas (.331, first).

ACE IN THE HOLE
California has seen a marked improvement at the service line this season under first year head coach Sam Crosson, who has made a point of wanting to see the Bears serve tougher. Currently sitting fifth in the conference in aces per set (1.33) as a team, senior Maddie Haynes is fourth in the Pac-12 with 0.32 aces per set, while sophomore Jade Blevins is fifth at 0.31 through the first 20 matches. 

BLOCK PARTY
The Bears front row was dialed in on the road in Oregon, led by a season-high tying 14-block effort in the straight set win over Oregon State on October 4. It was the second consecutive match California recorded 14 blocks after putting up the same number in a five-set victory over Washington State on Sept. 28. Cal wrapped up the weekend by tallying eight blocks in the first win over Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena since 2012.

RENNIE REIGNS
Redshirt senior Savannah Rennie opened the season with a bang, taking home Rams Volleyball Classic MVP and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors in week one, followed by NDSU Classic All-Tournament Team recognition. Finally at full strength for the first time in her Cal career after overcoming a liver transplant, followed by post-transplant non-Hodgkin lymphoma during her first four years as a Bear, Rennie tallied 27 kills and 13 block assists, while recording a combined hitting percentage of .500 in Cal's three wins to open the season. She totaled 27 kills, 14 blocks and 10 digs in 27 sets a year ago. 

MADDIE SHINES
Senior Maddie Haynes came on strong in Irvine, turning in the best three-match stretch of her career. Haynes recorded a team-high 14 kills in the win over North Carolina with a career-best .542 hitting percentage on 24 swings. She set her second personal best in as many days with four service aces against UNLV and finished with 27 kills over the three-match weekend tournament. Haynes came up on kill shy of tying her career-high with 17 kills in the win at Saint Mary's and has notched double-digit kills seven times already in 2019 after reaching double figures six times a year ago. 

ALL-TOURNAMENT DUO
The Bears had two others named to the Rams Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team in junior outside hitter Mima Mirkovic and senior opposite hitter Bailee Huizenga. Mirkovic led the Bears with 34 kills, to go along with seven blocks and three aces over the weekend. She is also second on the team with 42 digs through the first three matches. Huizenga racked up 31 kills while adding 10 block assists in three matches, and notched her first-career double-double in the 3-1 victory over Colorado State with 12 kills and 12 digs.

STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal volleyball, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVolleyball), Instagram (@calvolleyball) and Facebook (Cal Volleyball).