CAL at No. 9 WASHINGTON
Wednesday, Nov. 27 | 4:00 PM  | Alaska Airlines Arena | Seattle, Wash. | Pac-12 Networks

CAL at No. 3 STANFORD
Friday, Nov. 29 | 3:00 PM  | Maples Pavilion | Stanford, Calif. | Pac-12 Networks

BERKELEY - The Bears wrap up regular season action with a pair of road matches against top 10 opponents and the Pac-12 leaders, looking to head into the postseason on a high note in head coach Sam Crosson's first season. California has won 20 of its first 28 matches in 2019, a year after winning only 15 total matches in 2018.   

Sitting at 10-8 in the Pac-12, the Bears have already passed the total number of conference wins (seven) from last season. California is set to face Washington with first serve scheduled for 4 p.m. PST on Wednesday and No. 4 Stanford at 3 p.m. PST on Friday. Both matches will air on the Pac-12 Networks. This will be the first time the Bears and Huskies meet this season after UW won both matches a year ago and hold a 40-29 lead in the all-time series. Then-No. 1 Stanford took the first meeting of the season with Cal on Sept 26 (3-1) at Haas Pavilion to open Pac-12 play. The Cardinal hold the advantage in the all-time series 77-12.

20 IS THE NUMBER
The Bears earned win No. 20 in Week 10 at Arizona State with six regular season matches remaining. It's the first time California has won at least 20 matches since the 2011 season, when the team went 26-7 overall and 16-6 in Pac-12 play to finish third in the conference. With the win over No. 18 Utah on Oct. 18, California clinched its first winning season since 2013, when the Bears went 18-13 overall with a 10-10 record in Pac-12 competition.

1K CLUB
Mima Mirkovic is approaching a milestone in her career at Cal. Heading into the weekend, the junior has tallied 970 kills in her first three seasons, 30 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 15th in the country and leads the conference with a .401 hitting percentage clip. She is on pace to challenge the Cal single-season hitting percentage record of .419, set by Shannon Hawari in 2010. Anderson tallied 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 total 24 kills in the opening weekend of conference play.

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 the 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).

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 .204 this season in matches against California, currently the fourth-best mark in the conference. The Bears have held five opponents below a .100 hitting percentage and 14 below a .200 clip in matches so far in 2019. 

MADDIE SHINES
Senior Maddie Haynes has recorded 287 kills on the season to this point, blasting away her previous career-high of 208 set her freshman year in Berkeley.Haynes set a new career-best with 20 kills on senior day against USC and has notched double-digit kills 16 times already in 2019 after reaching double figures six times a year ago.

TEAM EFFORT
Led by Anderson (.401, 15th) and redshirt sophomore Lauren Forte (.338) the Bears are 12th in the country and second in the Pac-12 in team hitting percentage through the first 13 weeks of the season. California is currently hitting .282 as a squad, trailing just No. 3 Stanford, who leads the conference with a .290 hitting percentage clip.

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 sixth in the conference in aces per set (1.26) as a team, senior Maddie Haynes is eighth in the Pac-12 with 0.27 aces per set, while sophomore Jade Blevins is 19th at 0.23 through the first 28 matches.

CLIMBING THE RANKS
The Bears went 10 consecutive weeks with a national ranking this season and are receiving votes in the week 13 AVCA Coaches Poll. Cal was No. 24 last week after three straight weeks at No. 20, 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.

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.

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