California volleyball will close out its four-match homestand this week, hosting Virginia Tech on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT and Virginia on Friday at 7 p.m. This will be the Golden Bears' (11-15, 3-11 ACC) first-ever meeting with the Hokies (7-17, 1-13) and just its second with the Cavaliers (19-6, 9-5). Both matches are set to broadcast on ACCNX.
 
Last weekend, Cal lost in three to No. 16 Georgia Tech on Friday night before sweeping Clemson on Saturday to snap a seven-game losing streak. A trio of Bears – Mikayla Hayden, Xuemeng (Maggie) Li and Peyton DeJardin – posted 11 kills against the Tigers; Hayden hit .605 on the weekend with 23 total kills and zero errors, while Li recorded her fourth double-double of the year (12 digs) and Sophia Johnson notched 14 digs for her career best in a three-set match.
 
Vs. Virginia Tech
Last Meeting: N/A
All-Time Record: 0-0
Current Streak: N/A
 
The Hokies have lost their last eight matches, dating back to their only ACC victory of the year – a 3-1 win over Clemson on Oct. 13 – and currently rank last in the ACC in hitting percentage (.173). Virginia Tech is not without weapons, however, as middle blocker Jordan Hallman averages 1.09 blocks per set and setter Viktoria Wahlgren recorded a triple-double (11 kills, 25 assists, 20 digs) last week against Virginia Tech. Leading the Hokies' offense is opposite Hailey Pierce, who has totaled 251 kills (2.88 per set) on the year.
 
Vs. Virginia
Last Meeting: Sept. 2, 2011 (at Charlottesville, Virginia – Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup; Cal won 3-0)
All-Time Record: 1-0
Current Streak: Cal won last 1
 
The Cavaliers have won their past two games (both against Virginia Tech) and have proven a dangerous opponent throughout the season, with a marquee 3-0 win over No. 16 Florida State under their belts. Virginia's experienced squad is led on offense by middle blocker Kate Dean, who ranks seventh in the ACC with a .365 hitting percentage (155 kills) and outside hitter Elayne Duprety, who averages 2.98 kills per set (253 kills); defensively, they are holding teams to an average hitting percentage of .182 on the year, aided by the efforts of libero Milan Gomillion (4.28 digs per set – 4th ACC) and middle blocker Abby Tadder (99 total blocks, 1.05 per set).
 
 
LI LEADS
After 11 weeks of play this season, sophomore outside hitter Xuemeng (Maggie) Li ranks second in the ACC with 343 kills (3.73 per set) and is fifth in the conference with 381.0 points. She has led the team in kills in all but four of 26 matches this season and has reached double-digits in 119 of those; she also ranks among the Bears' top-five players in service aces, digs and blocks. Li is coming off a sensational rookie season in which she was named a VolleyballMag All-America Honorable Mention, the AVCA Pacific West Region Freshman of the Year and All-Pacific West Region Honorable Mention, an All-Pac-12 team member and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Her six Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards also tied a conference record. During her freshman year, she posted 441 kills - third most among all Pac-12 players - with 4.35 points per set (4th Pac-12). She was also second on the team with 34 aces and third with 265 digs. 

BREAKOUT YEAR FOR LAU
Junior setter Natalie Lau has started each of the past 21 matches for the Bears, after they lost senior Annalea Maeder to injury, and is currently fourth in the ACC with an average of 9.18 assists per set. She also leads the team with 698 assists on the year and 10 double-doubles. Her first collegiate start came Sept. 6 against Utah State, where she recorded 40 assists and 10 digs as well as three kills, two aces and two blocks. In the next match against Saint Mary's, she posted a career-high 64 assists (and 18 digs) for the best such outing of any ACC player in a five-set contest this year. She followed that up with another career performance three days later, recording four blocks against Wyoming in addition to 45 assists and 13 digs. Lau has also notched three service aces in consecutive games this year (vs. Boston College & Syracuse), matching a career single-match best.
 
GLORY FOR GIANNA
Graduate transfer Gianna Bartalo, who spent her undergraduate career at Denver, has become one of the Bears' top defensive players this season. She has recorded double-digit digs in 18 of Cal's 26 matches so far and is fifth in the ACC with 365 on the year, averaging 3.97 per set. Bartalo's best weekend of the year came against Boston College and Syracuse, averaging 5.7 digs across 10 sets and posting the 14th 30-dig performance in program history in the latter game. As a Pioneer, Bartalo was named All-Summit League Honorable Mention in her senior year and ranks seventh on Denver's all-time career list with an average of 3.73 digs per set. She crossed 100 career service aces in this year's match against No. 12 SMU.
 
WELCOME TO THE ACC
The Bears wasted no time making their presence felt as new members of the ACC. For their performances in going 3-0 at the season-opening Rose City Showdown in Portland, sophomore Maggie Li and senior Annalea Maeder were named ACC Offensive Player of the Week and ACC Setter of the Week, respectively. Li averaged 4.45 kills per set - tops in the conference through the initial week - while hitting for a .281 percentage. Her 24 kills in a five-set win over San Francisco tied a career high. Maeder dished out a conference-high 122 assists in Portland, including 60 in the victory over the Dons.
 
NEW CONFERENCE, NEW STAFF
Head coach Jen Malcom joined the Bears in January 2024 from UCLA, where she was the associate head coach in 2023; previously, she spent seven years at Iowa State as an assistant coach (2016-18) and associate head coach (2019-22), helping lead the Cyclones to five NCAA Tournament appearances. Also on staff are new assistant coaches Andrew Sato (Long Beach State), Cole Murray (Loyola Marymount) and Alyssa Andreno (Tennessee); Sato was previously a volunteer assistant coach at Cal (2017) and was most recently an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton (2021-23), while Murray acted as an assistant coach at Campbell (2023) and Andreno at Winthrop (2022-23).
 
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