California volleyball returns home this week for the start of a four-match homestand, first welcoming No. 16 Georgia Tech – Cal's sixth ranked opponent in its past seven games – to Haas Pavilion Friday at 7 p.m. PT before facing Clemson the next day at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ACCNX.
 
The Golden Bears (10-14, 2-10 ACC) went on the road last weekend and fell to No. 23 Florida State in three sets (25-23, 25-19, 25-18), then lost to Miami in three (25-16, 25-21, 25-17).
 
Vs. No. 16 Georgia Tech
Last Meeting: Dec. 12, 2003 (@ Honolulu, Hawai'i – NCAA Regional Semifinal; Georgia Tech won 3-1)
All-Time Record: Georgia Tech leads 1-0
Current Streak: Georgia Tech won last 1
 
The Yellow Jackets (17-4, 9-3) have won their last seven games and currently rank second in the ACC with 15.15 digs per set on the year, averaging 15.81 in ACC play; they are also a top-50 team nationally in assists per set with an average of 12.58. Their top offensive weapons are senior outside hitters Bianca Bertolino and Tamara Otene, who were both named Volleyball Magazine All-America Honorable Mentions last year; Bertolino was also selected as an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Honorable Mention and currently leads Georgia Tech with 3.49 kills per set on 272 kills while also averaging 0.56 aces per set. Defensively, junior libero Sofia Velez paces the team with 3.91 digs per set, while junior middle blocker Liv Mogridge has recorded a team-high 60 stops on the year (0.88 blocks per set).
 
Vs. Clemson
Last Meeting: N/A
All-Time Record: 0-0
Current Streak: N/A
 
The Tigers (8-15, 0-12) are still looking for their first conference win, averaging just 11.35 kills per set; however, Clemson's defense is among the best in the ACC with a torrid digs-per-set pace of 16.31 that ranks 42nd among all Division I teams. Starting libero Devan Taylor is one of the top players in Tigers history with 1,663 career digs; she currently ranks second in the ACC with 4.51 digs per set and leads the conference with 379 on the year, including a 34-dig performance against Wofford in September. Middle hitter Kate Hansen, a transfer from Texas Tech, paces the squad at the net with 71 total blocks (0.86 blocks per set). On the offensive side of the ball, Clemson is led by pin hitters Azyah Dailey (207 kills, 2.92 per set) and Mia McGrath (202 kills, 2.56 per set).
 
 
LI LEADS
After ten weeks of play this season, sophomore outside hitter Xuemeng (Maggie) Li ranks second in the ACC with 317 kills (3.69 per set – 5th ACC) and is fourth in the conference with 352.0 points. She has led the team in kills in all but four of 24 matches this season and has reached double-digits in 17 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 19 matches for the Bears after losing senior Annalea Maeder to injury and is currently fifth in the ACC with an average of 8.89 assists per set. She also leads the team with 622 assists on the year and nine 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 24 matches so far and is sixth in the ACC with 348 on the year, averaging 4.05 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.
 
FIERY FRESHMAN
Middle blocker Kate Mansfield, a rookie from Plano, Texas, has been a bright spot for Cal this season. She has recorded eight matches with a hitting percentage of over .300 and has posted consecutive games with double-digit kills twice this season – first against Saint Mary's (11, .474) and Wyoming (10, .333) in Week Three, then against UC Irvine (16, .419) and Santa Clara (11, .625) the following week; in the latter two matches, she led the team in kills. Mansfield is also stout on the defensive side of the net with 51 blocks on the year, including three five-block outings.
 
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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