Junior Madison Dueck takes readers inside the Cal beach volleyball program every week this season with her blog, "Madi's Moments."

May 3, 2019

Hello!

One last post to wrap up the year! I swear the season goes by faster and faster every year. Still in denial that I only have one more go around...

We finished up the 2019 season with a third place at Pac-12s this past weekend! We came in with the third seed and were happy to be able to keep it. We unfortunately started the tournament with a loss to ASU, but were able to fight our way through the contenders bracket all the way to the semis, where we lost to No. 1 seeded UCLA to take the bronze.

With another season in the books, I find myself so grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this Cal beach volleyball family. Sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to keep pushing when we're in the grind of season, but the girls on this team truly inspire me and keep me going. As cheesy as it is, I am so incredibly lucky to be able to have my best friends as teammates. It's a special group we've got here, and I can't wait to see what next season holds for us.

When one thinks about our team at the beginning of this school year, the growth we have had since then is absolutely incredible. The amount this team is able to improve manages to exceed my expectations every single year and I'm so excited to see where we'll go next season with this steady climb. Unfortunately, we were unable to reach our goal of qualifying for NCAAs but we could not have come closer. I have no doubt that the fire we have to qualify is only going to get bigger, and next year I can promise you we'll be coming back hungrier than ever.

Thank you for following along with me this year! Until next season…

GO BEARS!


April 24, 2019

Hi there!

Before our big weekend at Stanford, we had our end-of-the-year banquet on Friday where we looked back at our crazy successful season and honored our three seniors (yes there were tears). It's always fun to have the players, parents, coaches, staff, alumni, etc. in the same room celebrating yet another incredible season passing (how do I only have one more???) and all the milestones we've reached this year. It definitely was a good precursor to the weekend, bringing us all together and reminding us how special this team is.

And what an exciting weekend we had at Stanford, beating No. 7 Cal Poly! After losing to them two weeks ago by only two points we were hungry for revenge. We were able to clinch the dual in ~style~ with a back-handed punch from Abby Waldburger that dropped right on the back line! After that we also beat Stanford for the THIRD time this season, with a 5-0 sweep over the Cards. It was a very successful weekend for the Bears, which earned us our HIGHEST EVER RANKING in program history at No.10!! We FINALLY made our way into the top-10 teams in the country!!

With a quick turnaround this week, we had two solid days of practice before leaving for the Pac-12 Championship Tournament at USC on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Pac-12s is always my favorite tournament of the year because of the competitiveness, excitement, and grind that comes with it. For most teams it is the last tournament of the season, so everyone really brings out their best play and battles to the very end. Last year we were stoked to leave with a third-place finish, and we are aiming to leave L.A. with another top-three finish this year! We even convinced our wonderful athletic trainer, Scott Bohrer, to agree to dye his hair bright blue if we win it all (now it's officially in writing, hehe).

For our last, but definitely not least, senior spotlight this year, we have the beautiful Karina Langli (better known as Bean)! Karina is from Encinitas, CA and is majoring in Political Economy with a minor in Public Policy. Her favorite memory with the team is the laughs we share during our pre-game dance parties (a crowd favorite it seems). After college she plans to apply for jobs in sustainability and clean energy in San Diego and the Bay Area. Karina is one of the hardest workers I know. She hasn't seen much court time during her career at Cal, but that never stops her from giving her all to every single rep in every single practice. I know this quality is going to take her far in life and I'm so lucky to be able to learn from her drive and competitive edge. Bean's leadership and hustle will be missed on this team, but we can't wait to see what the future has in store for her!

That's it for this week! Hope to see some of our fans out in L.A. this weekend, or tune in to Pac-12 Network to catch all the action!

GO BEARS!

 

April 18, 2019

Hey there!

We had a rollercoaster couple of days this past weekend in L.A. When we landed in Long Beach on Thursday, we went straight to the Long Beach State courts for a short practice. It was super windy which we didn't expect, so it was good that we got some touches in to prepare ourselves for the windy competition the next day. Later that night we all made our way to Mima Mirkovic's house, where her parents graciously hosted us for a team dinner and served us some INCREDIBLE food. Her dad was quite the chef and prepared FOUR different types of pastas with chicken and veggies. It was so yummy.

The next day we were able to beat Long Beach State, who is ranked No. 9, and in dramatic fashion! In the first flight of games our 2s and 4s both lost, which meant we had to win every match in the next flight to take the dual. After our 3s and 5s clinched wins it came down to a third game on the 1s court, where Mima and Jordan Polo handled business! This was a HUGE win for us and really started off the weekend on a high note.

After our match, Maddie Micheletti's family were kind enough to host the team and our parents at their home in Manhattan Beach. We packed our stomachs full with more delicious, homemade food and were able to chill a bit before the next day. We're so lucky to have such supportive and courteous parents!

The following day we had duals against No. 7 Cal Poly and No. 5 Pepperdine at Zuma Beach in Malibu. Unfortunately, we weren't able to pull out any dual wins, and headed back to Berkeley going 1-2 for the weekend. However our win against Long Beach moved us up in the rankings - we are now No. 11 according to AVCA and No. 8 according to DiG Magazine!

Good thing we get to have a rematch against Cal Poly this weekend! On Saturday, we play the Mustangs at 2:30 p.m. at Stanford and then No. 20 Stanford for the third time at 4 p.m. Come out and support!

Thanks for reading this week. Go Bears!!

April 11, 2019

Hi there!!

This past weekend we were at Stanford for the Pac-12 North tournament, where we played No. 2 USC, No. 1 UCLA, Washington, and No. 20 Stanford. When we arrived at the vans Saturday morning, Meagan informed us that she had been in urgent care all night with Mima Mirkovic, who had a severe case of food poisoning. Down a soldier, we headed to The Farm where we were told that Jacqueline Ribeiro would step in for Mima for the day. We were excited to get the games started. However, right as we started warming up, Derek called us in to a huddle where he explained we couldn't put Jacqueline at the 1s with Jordan because of certain lineup rules, so we all had to be put in new pairs...10 minutes before game time!! It was quite the shake-up but everyone handled it very well, and we were able to go back to our normal pairs after the first dual. Although we lost 5-0 to USC and 4-1 UCLA, a lot of our pairs put up an incredible fight against the number one and two ranked teams in the nation. Grace and Iya even got a win off UCLA!

Sunday we were able to beat Washington and Stanford both for the second time this season. Always fun to beat the Cards on their home turf!

This week we're doing our next senior spotlight on Grace Campbell! Grace is a Media Studies major from Manhattan Beach and has helped this team make crazy strides. Since being on the team, she has never missed playing in a dual (wow) and has always been a consistent player that everyone can count on. When I asked Grace what her favorite memory from being on this team was, she said "it's so tough to pick just one... probably being on a team with hands down some of the funniest individuals I've ever met and laughing until I can't breathe at least once a week. Oh and the pregame dance parties" (can't forget about those pregame DPs). After college Grace is going on an insane trip throughout Southeast Asia to travel around with her two best friends from home. So far she has plans to visit Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Japan.

Grace has been an incredible role model to myself and a lot of the girls on the team since our youth volleyball days, and continues to bring so much happiness to this squad. I have always looked up to Grace for her humility and adventurous attitude in life. We're so excited to watch her kill it in the real world! She (and her dance moves) will be missed dearly.

This weekend we're traveling down south to play No. 9 Long Beach State at their home courts, and No. 9 Cal Poly and No. 5 Pepperdine at Zuma Beach in Malibu. All highly ranked teams...a huge weekend for us bears!!

Thanks for reading and we hope to see some of you SoCal fans at our games this weekend! GO BEARS!

April 4, 2019

Hello!!

We had Senior Day this past weekend and it was so bittersweet. Per tradition, we started the day with a gathering in our ~decorated~ locker room, where we had a pre-game dance party with the team! There were streamers and balloons and lots of sweet gifts for our beloved seniors, Grace Campbell, Mia Merino, and Karina Langli. We tried to make them feel as special as we could because they deserve the world.

Before the match started we were able to have a short but sweet ceremony honoring our three seniors and all they have done for the program. We followed that up with a 4-1 dual win over San Jose State! Grace Campbell was even able to finish off her career at the Clark Kerr courts with a legendary skyball, truly giving the people what they want.

This week at practice, we talked about putting the first half of the season behind us, and focusing on the tough last five weeks (hopefully more) we have ahead- starting with the Pac-12 North tournament this weekend. All of our training since the beginning of September has been preparing us for the string of weeks we have coming, and I have to say I am so proud of this team for the state of mind we are in right now. The improvements we have been making lately and the strides we take from both our wins and losses have really been showing in both our physicality and mindsets. We are confident, fired up, and ready to show it...starting with USC Saturday morning!! Around this time last year I recall upsetting some Trojans at this exact tournament...

The Pac-12 North Tournament is at Stanford on Saturday and Sunday, where we will be playing No. 2 USC, No. 1 UCLA, Washington, and No.19 Stanford. Hope to see some familiar faces out there!

Thanks for reading, and Go Bears!
 

March 28, 2019

Hey, Cal fans! Just a quick update this week!

This past weekend, we got to take down two NorCal rivals - Saint Mary's and UC Davis - going 5-0 for both on our home courts. It was supposed to rain but ended up being a beautiful day in Berk!

This week is spring break for the school, but the whole team is up here for practices and matches. With our afternoons off we've been hanging out with each other and enjoying not having classes or homework. The other night we played a HEATED game of mafia (if you know you know) which ended with Mima asking that we don't play it for another year because tensions were so high.

We just got back from Moraga where we played Saint Mary's for a second time this week, this time winning the dual 3-2. We got to bring the whole team on this travel trip (usually only 12 go) and it was so fun having everyone there to cheer us on! I love it when we're able to make an away game feel like a home game with the whole team there to support us.

Not only is Friday our last home game of the season, but also SENIOR DAY! Come out to the Clark Kerr Sand Courts at 1 p.m to watch our three STUD seniors compete for their last time on home turf! Be prepared for (happy) tears to be shed, celebrating the incredible careers of these seniors and what they've done for our program. I know I speak for the whole team when I say I can't believe our last home game is already here. This season is flying by!

Thanks for reading this week. Go Bears!

 

March 21, 2019

Hi there!

We are back from Hawai'i and had the absolute best time!! We left at the crack of dawn this past Friday which, with the three-hour time change, still gave us most of the day once we got there. The first thing most of us did was go jump in the ocean!! It was SO beautiful and we were so excited to be there. We had a small practice on Friday afternoon to get used to the weather and the sand (both were HOT) before we headed to a team dinner! Jacqueline's family was nice enough to host our rowdy group at Outrigger Canoe Club for a meal on the sand by the water, where we were able to watch the waves and the sunset and eat some BOMB food. It was a beautiful welcoming to the islands!

The next day we played Hawai'i first, which we were super pumped about. We came so so close to beating them in an incredible dual all-around, but unfortunately in the end came up short. We were able to bounce back however with a 5-0 sweep over Nebraska and a 4-1 win over Boise St. This meant the next day we played Boise St. in the semis, which we won 5-0 to put us up against Hawaii again in the finals. Our team was hungry for a win after we came so close to beating them the day before, but unfortunately we came up just short again in another incredibly close dual. The loss stung for sure, knowing how close we were twice in a row to upsetting the No. 6 team in the country, but we handled it with pride and are focusing on the next one. Shoutout to Mima Mirkovic who was awarded best attacker of the tournament!

That afternoon we had some time to enjoy the ocean and chill for a bit, which we mostly spent trying to get rid of our spandex tans. The next morning a few of us were able to get an early morning surf sesh in before our flight, which was the perfect way to end our trip to Hawaii. Camille and I even got to see a turtle!

This week we are starting senior spotlights, and our first one is the lovely Mia Merino! Mia has been on this team since her freshman year, and always played an integral part in our starting lineup. She is from Tustin, Calif., and majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in child poverty and health outcomes. I asked Mia what her favorite memory from being on the team is, and she replied: "Probably be any travel trip. We always have so much fun together and get so much closer on those trips. Hawai'i this past weekend was especially fun because we got to be at the beach!" After she graduates, Mia will be attending Bournemouth University in the UK for her masters in public health, and continuing to play beach volleyball and indoor volleyball for the university. Mia is a stud player and person that I have always looked up to. She is so respected by our team on the sand and absolutely kills it in life. We are so proud of her for getting into grad school, and happy she gets to keep playing ball! We will miss her so much, and are happy to still have some time left with her before she goes overseas.

This week we're back in Berkeley and get to play Saint Mary's (@10 a.m.) and Davis (@1 p.m.) on Saturday at home. We hope to see you out for our second-to-last home matches!

Go Bears!

March 14, 2019

Hi there!

We've had quite an exciting week since I last posted! Last Thursday we hosted Utah on our home courts and won the dual 3-1! It was fun to be on home turf and even better that the rain stopped just in time for our dual!

This past Saturday we traveled to Stanford to play UC Davis and the Card for the first time this season. When we got there it was pouring rain, which is nothing we weren't used to - as I've said in the past, our program takes pride in how we battle through non-ideal weather. In our first huddle, Coach Derek even said "I hope it stays raining, that would give us a great advantage." However, the skies did clear and we were able to play both duals under some (here and there) sun, which we were happy about. In our first dual against UC Davis, all pairs took care of business and we were able to sweep them 5-0!

After UC Davis we had little time to switch our mindset to playing our rivals. Senior Mia Merino was able to get some words in in our between-dual huddle, reminding everyone about how far back the history of the rivalry between Stanford and Cal goes, and how fired up we should be to be able to compete in this rivalry wearing a Cal jersey.

In the first flight of matches, our 1s and 2s pairs both went to three games, with the 1s pulling it out and the 2s losing in a hard-fought battle, making the dual score 1-1. In the next flight of pairs, our 5s were able to secure an easy win for us, while our 3s pair lost another tight match, making the dual come down to the 4s match. My partner Alexia Inman and I managed to keep everyone even more on the edge of their seats, as our match also went to three games. We were able to secure the dual with a 15-6 win! The rest of the team rushed the court as we celebrated beating Stanford, a feeling that will never dull.

This week we're SO EXCITED to go to HAWAIIIIIII!!!! Our program hasn't had the opportunity to travel to the islands since before our seniors were freshman, and everyone is super stoked on a little mid-semester vay-cay (with some matches mixed in, of course). Not only are we excited for the tropical weather and island vibes, but we also get to play some tough teams this weekend. Winning would immensely help our chances at making it to the NCAA tournament (yay!). We've had a great week of practice and are hungry to return to the mainland with some Ws next week.

~Aloha~ and ~mahalo~ for reading this week! Go Bears!

 

March 6, 2019

Hello!!

The Bears are back from Arizona and returning with smiling faces! We started our trip before the crack of dawn Friday morning, meeting at the vans at 4 a.m. and flying out of Oakland airport by 5:50 a.m. (ugh). By the time we got to Tucson, it was only noon and we felt like we had already had a full day! After we ate some Chipotle (in which we discovered two girls on our team had never had before…crazy), we made our way to the Arizona courts for a quick practice to loosen up and get used to the sand before we played for real the next day. Us Bears were loving the fact that it was sunny and WARM - a foreign concept to us lately up in NorCal. Let's just say there were no complaints about that fact that we were able to wear spandex and tank tops instead of three layers of jackets and two pairs of socks…

The next day we had our first Pac-12 matchups against University of Washington and Arizona State, in which we won both! The Arizona stadium has five courts which allows all the games to be played at one time, which is kind of sad because that meant we didn't get to watch each others' games and partake in our usual crazy cheering. However, all the pairs played with an energy that traveled across all the courts, and it was fun to compete alongside one another. One of my personal highlights of the weekend was my and Alexia's game against ASU, in which we won 23-21 in the third set! Between both teams, there were 11 total match points and we finally pulled it out on the 12th. I don't think I have ever gotten that high with a score in the third game, and although the battle was exhausting, it was so much fun to compete that hard, and (as video can prove) both of us had the biggest smiles on our faces the whole time through.

The next day we played No.1 UCLA, which had us were super fired upr. We knew that we had absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain going into the match, and that our level of play wasn't much different from the reigning national champs. Although we lost 5-0, every pair competed so hard, with the 4s and 5s pairs of Alexia and myself as well as Abby and Mia bringing our matches to three sets. It felt good to test our skills against the No. 1 team in the nation and come away knowing we're not that far off from beating them.

This week we're excited to be back at HOME against Utah on Thursday at 2 p.m., and then this weekend we travel to Palo Alto to play UC Davis aaaaaannnnddd the Stanford Cards for the first time this season. We always looooovvveee a good crosstown rivalry!

Thanks for reading this week! Go Bears!
 

February 28, 2019

Hello again!!

We had a BLAST at our season-opener at home this past weekend!! Thank you SO much to everyone who came out. The energy and positive environment was so fun and helped us kick butt on the court. All teams 1-6 absolutely killed it in both duals, with the highest amount of points an opponent got all day being 15. That's quite a way to kick off our 2019 season!!

One huge thing that our team likes to pride ourselves in is our energy off the court, sticking to the idea that if one team is playing we are all playing. This past weekend we had no lack of that, as our crazy dance moves and weird cheers got to make their 2019 debuts. Personally, I have just as much fun on the court as I do off the court- I can feel the energy our team creates off the court while I'm playing, while it's also super fun to know I'm doing the same for other teams when off the court.
 
We also had our four recruits for next year visiting this past weekend, and they got to get their first taste of what a home game feels like! The freshmen got to show them around all weekend and get them excited for all that next year will hold.

This weekend we head down to Arizona for the Pac-12 South Tournament! The team is super excited to have our first duals against Pac-12 teams and all the challenges that brings. This week has brought a lot of rain and wet practices, and although everyone has had a super positive attitude in the tough conditions, we're happy to get out of Berkeley for a couple days and enjoy the 75 degree weather in Tucson!

We play University of Washington at 9:15 a.m. (PT) and Arizona State at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, and battle against #1-ranked UCLA on Sunday at 9:15 a.m. The ENTIRE event is televised on Pac-12 Networks so make sure to tune in sometime this weekend!

Thanks for reading, and as always, GO BEARS!!


February 21, 2019

Hello, Cal Beach Volleyball fans!
 
Welcome back to another year of Madi's Moments, bringing you updates of our season, team, travel, and any other inside info! As a little reminder, my name is Madi Dueck and I am now a junior on the team. I took over the blog last year and am super excited to be back covering our 2019 season!

Speaking of season...it is FINALLY here and we hope that you guys are as excited as we are!! As usual, we are coming off of a looooonnngggg off-season where we have been grinding like no other. Seriously, in my three years here I haven't seen a group of girls work so hard on and off the sand, and we're super excited to show off everything we've worked for this weekend at HOME!

Back with us for her fifth season as our head coach is the wonderful Meagan Owusu, and Derek Olson returning for his second season with the program, this time as associate head coach! From our very first team meeting of the year, Meagan and Derek have emphasized sustained aggression and sustained focus as our main goals for the year, honing in on the disciplines and controlling our side of the net. With their help and hard work, our team has made HUGE strides of improvement in the past eight months, both physically and mentally.

Also back for a fourth year with the team is our amazing strength coach, Cheryl Cox! Cheryl has been pushing us in the weight room, spin room, in the stadium, and out on the sand through a mixture of lifting, biking, sprinting, and circuit work. Cheryl prepares intricate workout blocks that better prepare our bodies for season, and her spunky, loud personality keeps us motivated and smiling through it all!! We love spending our mornings with her and can't thank her enough for all she does for us.

Additionally, we're SUPER stoked to welcome our new volunteer assistant coach, Paul Araiza!! Paul is from San Diego and joined our program at the start of this semester. He's had a lot of experience with coaching and playing, being a regular competitor in the AVP and coaching at multiple different clubs in San Diego. Paul says he's most excited to be "working with high level athletes and being part of a DI program." We're super excited to have his wisdom and knowledge of the game with us in this program.

With the graduation of three seniors last year, we added four new freshies to the team and one junior transfer from Hawaii! They all have been working so hard and fitting in with the team so well. We love them and are super excited to have them on board. Below are some fun facts about each of them:

Jordan Polo aka JayPo, JP, Jayps, JoPo
Hometown: Danville, CA
Intended Major: Business
Favorite Food: Sushi
Favorite thing about Berkeley so far: The people
Favorite hobby besides volleyball: Snowboarding

Harper Goldfarb aka Harp, Harpie
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Intended Major: Undecided
Favorite Food: Sushi
Favorite thing about Berkeley so far: The people
Favorite hobby besides volleyball: : Listening to music

Francesca Gettings aka Frenchie, French, French Fry
Hometown: Malibu, CA
Intended Major: Undecided
Favorite Food: Pizza
Favorite thing about Berkeley so far: The trees
Favorite hobby besides volleyball: Yoga

Andreea Paduraru aka Dre, Draymond, Draymond Green
Hometown: Pleasanton, CA
Intended Major: Integrated Molecular Environmental Biology
Favorite thing about Berkeley so far: All the people I've met and all the clubs/activities to get involved with (pre-vet club, teaching art to elementary school kids, beach volleyball)
Favorite hobby besides volleyball: Ceramics and traveling

Chloe Luyties aka Chlo, our junior transfer!
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Major: Marine Biology/Teaching
Favorite food: Sushi
Favorite thing about Berkeley so far: How much of a college town it is and all of the good restaurants
Favorite hobby besides volleyball: Yoga

One last thing before we wrap up: we found out last week that our very own Caroline Schafer and Mima Mirkovic got into the extremely prestigious Haas School of Business. We couldn't be more proud of them! They are both studs and very deserving of this, so a huge congratulations to those two. 
 
Hope you enjoyed catching up with us! We couldn't be more stoked to start our season at HOME this weekend with Santa Clara at 8:30 a.m. and USF at 2:30 p.m. at our usual Clark Kerr Sand Courts. We hope to see you there!!

GO BEARS!