No. 20 CAL at ARIZONA
Thursday, Nov. 7 | 6:00 PM PT  | McKale Center | Tucson, Ariz. | Pac-12 Networks

No. 20 CAL at ARIZONA STATE
Sunday, Nov. 10 | 11:00 AM PT  | Desert Financial Arena | Tempe, Ariz. | Pac-12 Networks

BERKELEY - The Bears return to the road for a trip to the desert this weekend, visiting Arizona at McKale Center and Arizona State at Desert Financial Arena. No. 20 California has won 18 of its first 22 matches in 2019, a year after winning only 15 total matches in 2018.   

Tied for second-place in the Pac-12 at 8-4, the Bears have already passed the total number of conference wins (seven) from last season. California is set to face Arizona at 6 p.m. PT on Friday on the Pac--12 Networks and Arizona State at 11 a.m. on Sunday on the Pac-12 Networks. The Bears posted a 3-0 sweep over Arizona on Oct. 13 at Haas Pavilion, but the Wildcats lead the all-time series, 41-26. California defeated Arizona State 3-0 in Maples Pavilion on Oct. 11, playing a neutral site match due to power outages in Berkeley. The Sun Devils hold a 34-33 advantage in the all-time series with the Bears. 

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).

1K CLUB
Mima Mirkovic is approaching a milestone in her career at Cal. Heading into the weekend, the junior has tallied 939 kills in her first three seasons, 61 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 13th in the country and second in the conference with a .415 hitting percentage clip. She 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.   

LOOKING FOR 20
The Bears enter week 10 of action with a chance to win their 20th match of the year, a feat that hasn't been accomplished at California since the 2011 season, when the team went 26-7 overall and 16-6 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place 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. 

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 .184 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 and 14 below a .200 clip in matches so far in 2019.

KEEP CLIMBING
The Bears enter week 10 with a national ranking for the eighth consecutive week, checking in at No. 20 for the second straight week in the AVCA Coaches Poll after reeling off 18 wins in the first 22 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.

TEAM EFFORT
Led by Anderson (.415, 13th) and redshirt sophomore Lauren Forte (.353) 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 .294 as a squad, trailing just No. 4 Wisconsin (.294, fourth), No. 22 Western Ky. (.301, third) Missouri (.309, second) and No. 1 Texas (.336, 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 tied for second in the Pac-12 with 0.31 aces per set, while sophomore Jade Blevins is eighth at 0.28 through the first 22 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. 

STAY POSTED
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