THURSDAY, FEB. 19
NO. 9 CALIFORNIA VS. NO. 2 STANFORD
TIME: 10:30 A.M. PT
LIVE STATS: STATBROADCAST
NO. 9 CALIFORNIA VS. NO. 7 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
TIME: 2:15 P.M. PT
LIVE STATS: STATBROADCAST
 
FRIDAY, FEB. 20
NO. 9 CALIFORNIA VS. NO. 6 TEXAS
TIME: 10:30 A.M. PT
LIVE STATS: STATBROADCAST
NO. 9 CALIFORNIA VS. NO. 4 USC
TIME: 3:30 P.M. PT
LIVE STATS: STATBROADCAST
 
SATURDAY, FEB. 21
NO. 9 CALIFORNIA VS. NO. 1 UCLA
TIME: 11:45 A.M. PT
LIVE STATS: STATBROADCAST
NO. 9 CALIFORNIA VS. NO. 16 HAWAII
TIME: 3:30 P.M. PT
LIVE STATS: STATBROADCAST
 
 
 
 
The No. 9 California beach volleyball team faces a gauntlet of competition to begin the 2026 season as all six of the Golden Bears' opponents at this week's Outrigger DUKE Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Honolulu are ranked in the AVCA preseason poll – including five in the top 10.

Cal, coming off its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Championship, will face off against No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 USC, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Loyola Marymount and No. 16 Hawai'i over the three-day event at Queens Beach on the south end of Waikiki. All five of the top-10 opponents also qualified for last season's NCAA Championship, with UCLA and LMU moving on to the Final Four.

The Bears are ranked in the AVCA preseason top 10 themselves for the fourth straight season and the third consecutive year they begin the year at No. 9. Cal's highest preseason ranking ever was No. 8 in 2024.
 
SUSTAINED SUCCESS: The Bears have qualified for each of the past four NCAA Championships and have ended each of the past seven seasons ranked in the AVCA top 15 – including three straight top-10 finishes.

DONLEY/SHERMAN RETURN: Cal features one of the top pairs in the country in junior Emma Donley and senior Portia Sherman, who became the program's first-ever AVCA First Team All-Americans last season. The duo set the Bears' single-season wins record last year by going 28-7, with 17 of those victories coming against pairs from ranked opponents. Donely and Sherman were also named a Top Flight by the AVCA.

GIA THE GREAT: Senior Gia Fisher is coming off a stellar junior season in which she went 24-9 playing primarily on the No. 2 court. She was named to the All-MPSF Second Team after the season. Fisher is 54-27 in her career playing strictly on the top three courts.

NEW FACES: The Bears feature eight newcomers this season, including a handful of transfers from top programs across the nation. Junior Grace Hong (USC) and sophomore Elle Evers (LSU) each played for teams that advanced to last season's NCAA Championship, while junior Ava Haughy comes from Arizona State, which finished No. 12 in the final AVCA poll last year.

NEW HOME: The Bears will move into a new facility in 2027 – the Banatao Family Beach Volleyball Stadium. The project is being partially funded by Cal's successful Gender Equity Campaign that raised $8 million and allows for the campus' continued commitment to compliance with Title IX,the landmark federal law that was enacted in 1972 that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving any type of financial aid.

HEAD COACH MEAGAN OWUSU: Head Coach Meagan Owusu is entering her 10th season at the helm at Cal and has established the Bears as a consistent national power. Cal has qualified for each of the past four NCAA Championships and has ended the season ranked in the top 12 for eight straight years – including four straight top 10 finishes. Owusu was also a defensive specialist for Cal's indoor program from 2007-2010 and helped the Bears reach their only two NCAA Final Fours in history.

 
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