BERKELEY – With a new era beginning for California volleyball this fall under the leadership of Sam Crosson, the Golden Bears will shake things up during their non-conference slate, which finds them on the road on all but one occasion.
 
Cal's 2019 schedule, announced Monday by Crosson, beginning his first season at the helm of the program, puts the Bears on the road for their first nine games, starting with Oklahoma on Aug. 30 at in Fort Collins, Colo., for the Colorado State Tournament. The Bears will take on Colorado State, who advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2018 and face Chicago State to close opening weekend on Aug. 31.
 
Following, the Bears will take a trip to Southern California to take on North Carolina, UNLV and the Anteaters of UC Irvine, the tournament host, on Sept. 6-7.
 
And, for the first time in program history, Cal will compete in Fargo, N.D., at North Dakota State, taking on the host team, and Buffalo. 

"The non-conference portion of our schedule is comprised of teams and matches against several quality opponents," said Crosson, who was an assistant at Cal under longtime head coach Rich Feller from 2010-12. "We specifically wanted to be on the road more than in years past for non-conference as I believe that being challenged early and in uncomfortable environments is the best preparation we can offer our team before we start the rigors of a full Pac-12 conference season."
 
The Bears return to Haas Pavilion for their home opener on Sept. 19 against Saint Mary's, before closing out their nonconference schedule on Sept. 21 at the home of the Gaels in Moraga, Calif. The game in Berkeley will be the first of 14 games of the season televised by the Pac-12 Networks.
 
Pac-12 play begins on Sept. 26 with the Big Spike as Cal hosts reigning national champion Stanford. The historical matchup will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks. The rivals also conclude their season pitted against each other on Nov. 29 in Stanford.
 
The Bears also welcome the Cougars from Washington State on Sept. 28. Cal swept an 18th-ranked Wazzu last season for the first time since 2012. It was the highest ranked team the Bears defeated in 2018.
 
Cal gets back on the road on Oct. 4-6 to take on Oregon State and Oregon, respectively. The Bears also swept the Beavers last season, but came up short on both occasions versus the Ducks.
 
Fans can look forward to one of the most anticipated matchups of the year against UCLA on Oct. 27 in Los Angeles and Nov. 15 in Berkeley. Cal found its first win at Pauley Pavilion since 2013 in a 3-0 upset of the 20th-ranked Bruins in October of 2018.
 
League competition will again be stout as eight of the Pac-12 teams advanced to the Big Dance last year. In all, Cal will see 10 returning postseason opponents during the regular season.
 
This season, Cal looks to build off of one of its most impressive campaigns since 2013, the last time the program reached postseason play. Last year's 15 wins are the most overall wins since 2013 when Cal went 18-13 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA. The Bears' seven wins are the most conference wins since 2013 when they won nine games in league play.

"It is a very exciting time within our program right now," Crosson said. "The combination of how our team finished the 2018 season, and how much progress we made as a collective program during this past spring, has our entire program looking forward to the start of the upcoming 2019 season."
 
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