Head coach Meagan Owusu and the 20 Golden Bears that make up the No. 9 California beach volleyball team are set for their inaugural season as a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation program.
 
The MPSF, which began hosting beach volleyball this season, immediately became one of the top conferences in the sport with the seven programs on its roster accounting for all eight NCAA Championship titles.
 
"We are excited to embark on our inaugural MPSF season," Owusu said. "We are grateful that we get to play in such a competitive conference and compete against many of the same schools that we have played against historically."
 
Four more top teams in LSU, Florida State, South Carolina and Texas will join the MPSF next year to make it a true super conference.
 
Cal enters its new era riding three straight trips to the NCAA Championship, the first in the program's 12-year existence. With first-round wins in each of the last two seasons, the Bears have finished as the seventh-ranked team each year, a program best. Cal posted a 22-14 overall record in 2024 with 12 ranked wins and was ranked as high as No. 6.
 
Owusu credits this recent success to the team's dedication to improving as well-rounded student-athletes.
 
"We continue to focus on getting better in all areas each year," Owusu said. "That can mean many things and we are fortunate to be surrounded by so many amazing individuals and support staff dedicated to the improvement and experience of this team."
 
The 2025 roster features 13 returners, two graduate-student transfers and five freshmen. In total there are 12 upperclassmen that Owusu expects a group of 12 upperclassmen to set the tone as they enter unchartered waters in a new conference.
 
"This year we have strong veteran leadership," Owusu said. "Not only are they talented volleyball players but they have done an outstanding job bringing the underclassmen up to speed with our standards and values." 
 
Graduate student and two-time AVCA All-American, Sierra Caffo, returns for her third and final season with the Bears. She has been a mainstay on court one for Cal and has amassed 39 wins as an individual, 23 of which came in the top spot. Her late-season running mate from last year, AVCA All-American Alexandria Young-Gomez, returns for her senior season after earning a 23-13 record last year. Young-Gomez currently ranks 10^th on Cal's career wins list with 60.
 
The only Bear ahead of Young-Gomez on the active roster is senior Ella Dreibholz, who with 78 career victories is on pace to be the program's all-time wins leader. She needs just six wins to earn that title, which is currently held by Grace Campbell (83). Another Bear that enters the season on milestone watch is Junior Portia Sherman, who currently owns the program's win percentage record at .828 after pacing Cal with a 26-7 record as a sophomore.
 
Cal hopes to get immediate help from its two graduate transfers, Christine DeRoos and Maile Somera. DeRoos joins the Bears from Long Beach State where she was a 2024 All-Big-West Honorable Mention and AVCA Top Flight Award Recipient for Flight 4. She is coming off her best season yet, posting a 24-11 overall record with 10 ranked wins for LBSU. Somera is set to make her beach debut after playing indoor the last four years at Yale. Serving primarily as a libero, she was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year in 2024.
 
The eight underclassmen are headlined by sophomore Emma Donley who had as good of a collegiate debut as anyone could ask for. Donley went 21-14 as a freshman, including two wins at the Pac-12 Championship and another in the NCAA Championship, on her way to being named Second Team All-Pac-12. She earned a 7-1 record on court one and was also named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman team.
 
The five freshmen that have joined the veteran-heavy Bears – Bella Adishian, Carly Hixson, Kae Morely, and twin sisters Giselle and Savanna Lau – have already shown Owusu that they can help this team, even if they don't make the starting lineup.
 
"While we have a strong veteran presence, I have also been impressed by our freshmen this Fall and preseason," Owusu said. "They have expectations for effort and have made our team better in a short period of time."
 
The 2025 season begins this weekend in Malibu at the Pepperdine Challenge. Cal will face Vanguard and CSU Bakersfield on Friday before taking on the host Waves and Long Beach State on Saturday.