BERKELEY – California volleyball looks primed for an exciting season ahead, looking to bolster its upward momentum from 2023 to new heights as the Golden Bears enter their first year as members of the ACC. Led by first-year head coach Jen Malcom, the staff includes three new three assistant coaches – Andrew Sato, Cole Murray and Alyssa Andreno – who are working to instill a gritty, hardworking and winning culture on the squad.
 
"The team is eager for the season to start after having an important spring training and maintaining themselves on their own this summer," Malcom said. "Everyone on the team is bought in and wants to turn this program around as we head into a new conference. It was evident from day one this spring that they wanted more and pushed themselves to the limit each day – I expect the same from them this fall."
 
In 2023, Cal posted the program's first winning record in four years (16-15), with powerhouse sophomore Xuemeng (Maggie) Li leading the charge along with senior Annalea Maeder. Li capped off a Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and All-Pac-12 campaign with American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Pacific West Region Freshman of the Year, All-Pacific West Region Honorable Mention and VolleyballMag All-America Honorable Mention recognition. She led the Bears with 441 kills – third most among all Pac-12 players – and 491.5 points while also posting the program's second-best aces total (34) and third-highest number of digs (265). A force on the left side, Li was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week no fewer than six times, tying a conference record.
 
Maeder recorded her first-career 1,000-assist season in 2023 (1,037), averaging 9.18 assists per set, and led the team with 46 aces for the third-best total in the Pac-12 and the 10th most in program history. She recorded 11 double-doubles on the year, tied with Li for a team high, and ranked among the squad's top-five players in digs (286 – second) and blocks (44 – fifth). Currently, Maeder ranks seventh in program history with 2,584 career assists and sixth with 116 career service aces; she will need 1,038 more assists and 10 more aces, respectively, to break into the top five of each category.
 
Cal welcomed transfers Gianna Bartalo (via Denver) and Cherlin Antonio (via Syracuse) to Berkeley this summer, along with three new freshmen in Grace Agolli, Kate Mansfield and Sofia Williams. With four years at libero already under her belt, Bartalo – who has a 40-dig match to her name – will look to fill the shoes of the recently graduated Tara DeSa; Antonio, a powerhouse who has played with Dominican Republic U23 National Team, will bolster the Bears' right side. The trio of newcomers each provides expertise at a different position: Agolli, the 2023 Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year, will patrol on the right, with Mansfield (the 2023 Texas 6A Hitter of the Year) manning the middle and Williams (a 2023 All-California Interscholastic Federation player) keeping an eye on the outside.
 
"Our newcomers will add depth to areas in which we were previously thin," Malcom said. "The two transfers will bring plenty of experience – expect to see Gianna in particular in a key leadership role for us."
 
The Bears will not only have to adjust to a new conference but also to some new rules instituted by the NCAA. Perhaps the biggest change is the new double-contact rule, in which players can now touch the ball more than once with any part of the body provided that the ball is being passed to a teammate. Additionally, teams can now also assign two liberos per set, although only one will be allowed on the court at a time.
 
Cal will host UC Davis for an exhibition match Aug. 24. It will officially open its season the following week at the Rose City Showdown Presented by Hotel Vance, hosted at Portland State beginning Aug. 30.
 
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