The California beach volleyball team earned its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship on Sunday, earning the No. 8 seed in the 16-team field. The Golden Bears (23-13) will meet ninth-seeded Long Beach State in the first round on Friday at 10 a.m. PT in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Cal is led by No. 1 pair Emma Donley and Portia Sherman, who are 29-5 on the season. The Bears have three victories over top-10 opponents this season and nine wins over nationally ranked teams overall. All of their losses have come against top 10 opponents.

This will mark the third time in the past four years that the Bears have faced the 49ers in the first round of the NCAA Championship. Cal won each of the previous two showdowns, which are also the two times the Bears have advanced to the quarterfinals.

At No. 8, Cal ties its second-highest seeding at the NCAA Championships. They were also the eighth seed in 2023. The Bears' best postseason seed came in 2024, when they were No. 7.

Should Cal defeat Long Beach St., it would meet the winner of the first round match between top-seeded Stanford and No. 16 Chattanooga on Saturday.

 
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