On the volleyball court, freshman Maggie Li is unmistakable.
 
At 6-foot-3, she is one of the taller members of the California volleyball team and plays with the air of an established veteran. Her confidence when she launches herself into the air, arm cocked back for a big swing, is enough to make one's breath catch and then escape in a rush when the ball finds a bare spot of floor.  Next comes a whoop from the ponytailed young woman as she throws her index finger toward the ceiling – the mark of another successful kill.
 
Off the court, Li is just as unmistakable.
 
Almost never seen without a smile, she is engaging, enthusiastic, eager. She becomes slightly bashful when her own accomplishments are brought to the forefront of a conversation, always choosing to express admiration for her teammates and the energy they create to inspire her.
 
"It's a very positive environment," she said of the Cal program. "The mentality is contagious."
 
That admiration goes both ways.
 
 "She's honestly one of the most hardworking players that I've ever met," teammate Ashley Li said.
 
After just one weekend of play and an All-Tournament nod, Maggie was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week – the program's first such honor in five years. One week later, No. 3 had done it again. The next week, again. In the entire history of Pac-12 volleyball, no other freshman had started the season with three straight weekly awards.
 
Born Li Xuemeng, the first-year Golden Bear from Beijing has been around volleyball her entire life – like Maggie herself, her mother, Sheng Chunyuan, was an outside hitter for the Chinese junior national team.
 
"It wasn't a goal of mine to be on the national team like her – it just happened," Maggie said. "I've probably been playing since around third grade on the team that my mom coached."
 
Still, Maggie did not solely focus on volleyball for quite some time. She was both an avid tennis player and swimmer and considered bringing at least her tennis game to the next level in her younger years.
 
That changed once she realized something vital about herself.
 
"I felt lonely playing tennis," Maggie said with a laugh. "I like to be on a team, that's why I chose volleyball."
 
Maggie committed to Cal in December 2022, two months before interim head coach Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd joined the Bears' staff. The first Zoom call between the two, as incoming freshman and new assistant coach, stands out clearly in the latter's mind.
 
"I was surprised with how joyful Maggie was," Jones Schoonderwoerd said. "Our first talk was extremely wonderful. It was very late at night in China, but she was so excited. Often when you speak to kids for the first time, they can be a little reserved, but the first thing I noticed about her was her ability to communicate effectively and her joy and gratitude for the opportunity to compete here."
 
Ashley concurred with her coach's assessment, having been Maggie's host in her first official visit to campus.
 
"Even then, she was very excited to be here and get to know everyone," she said. "When she first joined the team, she was a little bit quiet, but now she's one of the most outgoing people on the team, just a very bright and cheerful person."
 
Several months later, Maggie's joy has yet to wane, and to her, the reason is obvious.
 
"I get to play volleyball every day with my teammates," she said. "I'm always anticipating every time I get to play."
 
Maggie models her impressive game after renowned pro Gabriela Guimarães, whose career she has avidly followed since 2020.
 
"She's a well-rounded player and attacks very aggressively – I love her," she said. "I admire her leadership. She's the type of player that I want to become."
 
Statistically, Maggie is well on her way, ranking among the nation's top-five freshmen in four offensive categories and recording five double-doubles through 12 games. As a leader, she has already made quite an impression despite her youth.
 
"She's always asking for feedback and expects a lot out of herself," Ashley explained. "We all know she's a phenomenal player and she's holding herself to an even higher standard – it's really motivating."
 
"Everything matters so much to her," Jones Schoonderwoerd added. "Her own success and the success of the team is so important. She's willing to do anything to help the team win and she's extremely unselfish and humble."
 
With humility comes the ability to accept criticism and use it to improve. Thus far, Maggie has passed that test with flying colors, finding areas of her game that need work and fine-tuning them to keep opponents on their toes.
 
"When we first started, she didn't serve with as much intention as she does now – she's going back there and really thinking about her strategy, where she needs her serve to land," Jones Schoonderwoerd said. "She's very physical and can get away with hitting the ball at the same spot over and over, but we've talked to her about hitting over the block to different locations. Maggie has really taken on the challenge and increased her range and shot selection over the past few weeks."
 
"I focus more on the details that I ignored before," Maggie agreed.
 
With Pac-12 play officially underway, Maggie acknowledged the trials inherent to playing in one of the nation's premier volleyball conferences, but is excited to grow even more as an athlete and as an individual.
 
"I'm learning things every day – not just from playing, but from a class or even a random poster on a wall," she said. "It makes me really happy."

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