BERKELEY - California Beach Volleyball coach Meagan Owusu announced a stellar five-person signing class on Thursday. The quartet of Brooke Buchner, Maya Gessner, Ava Mann, Katarina Pantovic and Grace Paulson will be joining the Bears in 2020.
 
"Our 2020 class is one of the strongest recruiting classes in our program's history," Owusu said. "With the addition of these new players, we will continue to move in the correct direction. I can't wait to have these Bears on campus."
 


Brooke Buchner joins the Bears from The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California where she was named to the All-CIF First Team in both 2017 and 2018 for her work with the indoor volleyball team. The Rancho Santa Fe native also earned the Coastal League Player of the Year and is a team captain. She recorded more than 1000 career kills in leading The Bishop's School to a coastal League Championship and three straight third place finishes in the CIF San Diego Open Division.
 
On the sand, Buchner played for the Wave Beach Club and is a member of USA Volleyball's U19 High Performance A1 Beach Volleyball team. This year, she has collected a third place finish at the BVCA 18U National Championship, the p1440 18U National Championship and the ISF 18U World Trials, where she represented the United States. Buchner also claimed a title at the 18U Pan Pacific Championship last year and was the only member of the class of 2020 to finish in the top three of the USAV HP U19 Championships in 2018.
 
"Brooke has played at the highest level for a number of years," Owusu said." We expect her to be able to contribute right away and we think she can immediately make a positive impact on the team. She's a versatile player that has the ability to do it all."
 


Buchner is joined on the team by her Wave Beach Volleyball teammate Maya Gessner. Gessner attends La Jolla High School where she is a four-year honor roll member and a member of the 2018 San Diego Union Tribune All-Academic Team. On the court, she was a team captain and First Team All-Eastern League while playing for the indoor squad of the Vikings.
 
Gessner has shined on the sand, placing first in the AVP First Manhattan Beach Gold Event and taking third in the U17 Open USAV Girls Indoor Volleyball Junior National Championships. She was also a member of the JVA Beach Volleyball Watch List in 2018.
 
"Maya will come in as a strong blocker with a lot of potential," Owusu stated. "She is fairly young in her beach volleyball career, but she has a lot of potential and we are excited to see how she develops."
 


The Bears will also welcome Ava Mann into the fold for next year. Mann, who hails from Burlington, Ontario, Canada, joins Cal after a standout career as she won two Canadian national championships for her age group. She also won two provincial championships and was selected to Team Ontario.
 
Mann also played indoors for her high school, Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School, where she won the Halton League finals and the GHAC for three consecutive years. She has been her high school's athlete of the year and was a member of the Halton All-Star Team. Mann was also a member of the Academic Honor Roll throughout her four-year high school career.
 
"Ava is our first international recruit, so she is already making history for Cal Beach Volleyball," Owusu said. "She has been a top defender in Canada for many years and has experience playing in big, competitive atmospheres."
 


Katarina Pantovic will be joining the Cal Volleyball team in addition to the Beach squad. Pantovic comes to Cal from Lord Byng Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Pantovic represented Canada at the NORCECA Championsihps in 2018 to help Canada qualify for the U18 FIVB World Championships. In Egypt, Pantovic went on to lead team Canada in scoring as the squad took 14^th at the World Championships. She helped her club team, Thunder Volleyball Club, take first place at the U18 provincial championships, where she earned U18 provincial all-star and MVP honors
 
In addition to her success for the indoor team, Pantovic has also stood out on the sand as she earned a ninth-place finish at the world-renowned Vancouver Open pro beach volleyball tournament this summer, where she competed against Olympians and AVP players. Last season, Pantovic took second place at the U20 National Beach Volleyball competition.
 
"Kat is our dual-sport athlete, she will be splitting time between the indoor and beach volleyball teams," Owusu said. "She has already made a name for herself on the international stage. She will add size and power to our squad and we think she will be able to contribute immediately."
 


The final addition to the Bears class will be a familiar one as Grace Paulson joins the team from nearby Walnut Creek. Paulson, who is currently a senior at Las Lomas High School, was the team MVP in 2019 and a team captain the past two years. She also earned Scholar-Athlete honors for three consecutive years. On the sand, Paulson played for Kleos Beach Volleyball Club where she was coached by Cal's Associate Head Coach, Derek Olson.
 
"Grace is our only local recruit this year," Owusu stated. "She has developed into one of the top Northern California prospects over the past year and we are thrilled that she chose Cal. She is a versatile athlete and will be able to fill many roles for us."