BERKELEY – New Cal volleyball head coach Sam Crosson felt pretty good on Sunday night.

In other words, he felt bad.

Crosson had his team scrimmage on the second day of practice for the 2019 season, and he said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the level of play. For a coach that prides himself on having an answer to every challenge posed on a volleyball court, that made him feel a tad uneasy.

"I'm not scared about it, but I don't like it when I feel good," Crosson said. "I like it more when I have things to pick on. There are certainly things we can find, but I actually left the gym feeling really good."

After a few down seasons, interim head coach Jennifer Dorr began to lead the Bears back to respectability last year with their best performance since 2013. With Dorr still on staff as Crosson's associate head coach, the Bears are confident they can continue their ascent and move up the Pac-12 hierarchy even more this year.

"Expectations are super high," said redshirt sophomore middle blocker Lauren Forte, an All-Pac-12 selection a year ago. "We're really excited for this season. It's going to be something different."

While the difference in results may be something different, the Bears are going to do so with virtually the same cast of characters that began its climb last year. Cal returns its entire starting lineup from 2018, including a fully healthy Forte, who started off slow last season coming back from knee surgery.

"I feel like we're more established," Forte said. "I think last year was more of our build-up year where we were just going to work with what we have, and I think we did a really good job with that. With that establishment and culture change, it's laying the foundation. We're feeling more stable about things. I think we'll get it together this season."

Crosson arrived last winter in time for spring practice, but this week marks the real beginning of his tenure as Cal's head coach. The Bears began training camp Saturday in preparation for the 2019 season, which begins Aug. 30-31 at the Colorado State Tournament.

Crosson served on Cal's staff as an assistant in 2010-11, helping the Bears reach the NCAA title match in 2010. He left to become the head coach at Cal Poly in 2012, and took a struggling program to new heights with back-to-back Big West championships. He was also named Big West Coach of the Year twice.

"I know the history in terms of the things we do as a program that are unique to us," Crosson said. "I want to keep the identity of who we are as much as possible, but also create or own identity with this group."

Along with Forte, the group includes fellow All-Pac-12 honorees Mima Mirkovic and Preslie Anderson. Cal also returns experienced pin hitters Bailee Huizenga and Maddie Haynes, accomplished defensive specialists Emma Smith and Kat Knop and experienced setters Isabel Potter and Jade Blevins.

"Sam is really energetic and he's coming at it from a bunch of different perspectives that I don't think any of us have seen," Forte said. "He really likes to explain things from front to back and doesn't miss a step. We're all excited to work together and Sam is excited to teach. He has confidence in us and we have confidence in each other."