No. 11 Cal Hosts Saint Mary’s, Stanford

BERKELEY – The No. 11 California beach volleyball team (10-3) is set to host Saint Mary's (6-8) and Stanford (11-5) Saturday at the Clark Kerr Sand Courts. The Golden Bears' home-opener begins at 9 a.m.PT with a battle against the Gaels followed by the Big Spike against the Cardinal at 1 p.m.

10-Year Celebration
The Cal Athletics Fund will be hosting an event at the Big Spike to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Cal Beach Volleyball. Free food will be provided. To participate, simply sign up with the following link: https://calbea.rs/42d2Gi6 .

Nine In A Row
After dropping two of their first three matches, including a heartbreaker to No. 4 USC, the Bears went on an incredible win streak of nine matches. The streak stretched from March 4-12 and featured six sweeps and four wins over ranked opponents. It finally came to end on the final day of the Queen's Cup with a 3-2 loss to No. 9 Hawai'i.

1s Getting it Done
The court one pair of junior Maya Gessner and sophomore Ella Dreibholz have found their rhythm as of late. After a slow start, the pair has posted a 9-4 record with all matches being played in the top spot of the lineup. The duo came up clutch in the team's 3-2 wins over No. 14 Long Beach State and No. 18 Pepperdine, earning the match-clinching points.

Lower Court Locks
The duo of senior Lexi McKeown and sophomore Alex Young-Gomez have been a near-lock on the lower courts so far this season. Primarily playing on courts three and four, the pair has accumulated an 11-2 overall record and are the only pair with 10+ wins this season.

Bears Go 5-1 in L.A.
Cal is coming off of a very strong showing down in Los Angeles, where it played six matches in just three days. After dropping the first contest of the weekend to reigning NCAA champion and No. 4 USC, the Bears bounced back to win their next five and took down three ranked opponents along the way. The run began with three straight 5-0 sweeps over Utah, Oregon and No. 17 Arizona, and concluded with 3-2 wins over No. 14 Long Beach State and No. 18 Pepperdine.

The Bears got great results from the upper courts with the captain duo of senior Ainsley Radell and fifth-year Ashley Delgado going 5-1 on the weekend on court two. Junior Liz Waters-Leiga and sophomore Sierra Caffo posted a 4-1 record on court three and are now 6-1 as a pair this season. The team's court one duo of junior Maya Gessner and sophomore Ella Dreibholz came up big on the final day, clinching the wins over The Beach and the Waves.

Cal Picked 11th in AVCA Preseason Poll
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its Preseason Coaches Poll on Feb. 14, ranking Cal the No. 11 program in the country.

This is the second straight season the Bears began in that spot and it's the same spot they ended the last three seasons. They have been ranked in the top 13 of the AVCA in every poll since April 23, 2018.

On Feb. 20, the Bears were picked as the No. 8 team in the nation by College Beach Volleyball.

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Players Mentioned

Sierra Caffo

Ashley Delgado

Ella Dreibholz

Maya Gessner

Lexi McKeown

Ainsley Radell

Liz Waters-Leiga

Alexandria Young-Gomez

California Golden Bears Athletics