FRIDAY, AUG. 30
CAL VS. NEVADA | 2 P.M. PT | VIKING PAVILION | PORTLAND, ORE.
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SATURDAY, AUG. 31
CAL VS. USF | 11:30 A.M. PT | VIKING PAVILION | PORTLAND, ORE.
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CAL AT PORTLAND STATE | 6 P.M. | VIKING PAVILION | PORTLAND, ORE.
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BERKELEY – California volleyball begins its 2024 campaign this weekend for its first slate of matches under new head coach Jen Malcom, with the Golden Bears heading up to Portland, Oregon, for the Rose City Invitational Presented by Hotel Vance on Friday and Saturday. The program last competed in this tournament in 2018, winning two out of its three matches.
 
All three of Cal's upcoming opponents are very familiar to the Bears, who faced each of them in 2023. Cal will start off the tournament against Nevada on Friday at 2 p.m. PT, followed by matchups with USF (11:30 a.m.) and host Portland State (6 p.m.) on Saturday.
 
Nevada (7-22 in 2023) will also have a new head coach patrolling the sideline in former Washington State assistant Shannon Wyckoff-McNeal. The Wolf Pack returns its top pin hitter from last year in senior Sia Lii, who led the team with 308 kills and was second on the squad with 33 aces and 230 digs. Cal is 13-5 all time against Nevada, including a 3-1 victory last year at the Wolf Pack Invitational.
 
USF (10-18 in 2023) finished seventh in the WCC last season and has only beaten Cal twice in 38 matchups. Starring for the Dons will be sophomore Astrid Puig, whose prowess on both the left and right sides earned her a WCC All-Freshman Team selection. The Bears last saw USF in an exhibition match at Haas Pavilion in 2023.. In their last regular-season clash, USF came out on top, 3-0, on its own home court in 2012.
 
Portland State posted a winning record of 16-12 (9-7 Big Sky) in 2023. Sophomore libero Paige Stepaniuk was a standout for the Vikings last season, earning All-Tournament Team honors at the 2023 Rose City Invitational as well as a Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week nod. The Bears are 7-3 all time against Portland State, with their last matchup falling in favor of Cal (3-1 at Haas Pavilion in 2023).
 
LI LEADS
Sophomore outside hitter Xuemeng (Maggie) Li looks to take another step forward in her second year, following a sensational rookie season in which she was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, the AVCA Pacific West Region Freshman of the Year , a VolleyballMag All-America Honorable Mention, ,All-Pacific West Region Honorable Mention, and an All-Pac-12 team member. Her six Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards tied a conference record. During her inaugural 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.
 
MAEDER'S MARK
Senior setter Annalea Maeder is coming off her best season yet, in which she earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention after totaling 1,037 assists (9.18 assists per set) and 46 service aces, the latter of which tied for the 10th-highest single-season total in program history and was the third-most among all Pac-12 players. Maeder had 19 matches with 30 or more assists and also tied for a team-high 11 double-doubles while ranking second on the team with 286 digs. Currently, she ranks seventh in program history with 2,584 career assists and sixth with 116 career aces.
 
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, where she first was an assistant coach (2016-18) and then an associate head coach (2019-22) while 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).
 
WELCOME TO BEAR TERRITORY
Five newcomers have joined the Bears in 2024. Fifth-year libero Gianna Bartalo (Colorado Springs, Colo.) arrived from Denver after a prolific career with the Pioneers, while senior opposite Cherlin Antonio (La Romana, Dominican Republic), a former member of the Dominican Republic U23 team, transferred from Syracuse after a year as the Orange's top attacker. Three freshmen - Grace Agolli (Atlanta), Kate Mansfield (Plano, Texas) and Sofia Williams (San Clemente) - will also lend their skills to the squad. Agolli, who specializes as an opposite, is the reigning Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year, while middle blocker Mansfield was the 2023 Texas 6A District Hitter of the Year and outside hitter Williams was named All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) in her senior year.
 
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