2026 MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS
SPIKER BEACH
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22
NO. 5 SEED CAL (22-11) vs. NO. 4 SEED USC (26-9) | 11:30 A.M. PT | BIG TEN NETWORK PLUS | LIVE STATS
THURSDAY, APRIL 23
NO. 5 SEED CAL VS. TBD | 10:15 A.M. PT OR 12:15 A.M. PT
FRIDAY, APRIL 24
TBD


The No. 8 California beach volleyball team embarks on its second MPSF Championships this week at Spiker Beach. The Golden Bears are the No. 5 seed in the bracket and will meet fourth-seeded USC in the first round on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. PT. Cal joined the MPSF last season and finished fourth in the inaugural conference tournament.
 
SEASON REFLECTIONS
The Bears are well-positioned to make a deep run this postseason, with three wins over top-10 opponents and several other narrow losses to the nation's top teams. Cal has victories over then-No. 4 Texas, then-No. 8 Arizona State and then-No. 8 and defending NCAA champion TCU. All 11 of the Bears' defeats have come against top-10 teams, including six by a 3-2 score. Nine of their victories overall have been against nationally ranked opponents.

2025 MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Cal was one of only four teams to advance to the final day of the inaugural MPSF Championships last season. The Bears opened the tournament with a win over Grand Canyon before falling to top-seeded UCLA. Cal beat GCU once again to advance to the last day and then suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to USC.

DONLEY NAMED SEMIFINALIST FOR NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Junior Emma Donley was named a semifinalist for the 2026 AVCA National Collegiate Beach Player of the Year Award last week. Donley, partnering with senior Portia Sherman, is 28-4 this season playing exclusively as part of Cal's No. 1 pair. She has 10 victories over top 10 opponents and another six over pairs that are nationally ranked. All four of Donley and Sherman's losses are against top-10 foes.

DONLEY, SHERMAN APPROACH OWN MARK
Cal's No. 1 pair of Portia Sherman and Emma Donley needs just one more victory to set a program record for single-season pair wins with 29. The duo established the current Cal benchmark last season with 28 victories.

ONES BREAK CAREER RECORD
Earlier this season, Cal's top pair of Portia Sherman and Emma Donley became the program's all-time leader in career pair wins with 38, moving past Grace Campbell and Maddie Micheletti's previous standard of 37. Sherman and Donley's career victory total now stands at 56.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
The Bears have several players who have found themselves climbing the ranks of the program's all-time individual career wins list this season. Senior Portia Sherman is now up to 83 victories, which puts her in a tie for second place all-time at Cal with Grace Campbell. Junior Emma Donley is in seventh place with 78 career wins, senior Gia Fisher is eighth with 75 and Marilu Pally is tied for ninth with 71. Ella Dreibholz is the program's all-time wins leader with 105 in her career.

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 and 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 in 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.