Alyssa Andreno will enter her third year as an assistant coach at Cal in 2026, working mainly with the middle blockers.
In 2025, Andreno oversaw a strong middle unit that included standout Mikayla Hayden, who finished her Cal career with 389 blocks (eighth-most in program history) after posting 126 that season. Hayden recorded her first double-double against Syracuse with 17 kills (.452) and 10 blocks, becoming just the fifth player in program history to record 10 blocks in a four-set road match, and followed that up with another double-double two matches later in the Bears’ reverse sweep of No. 14 Miami (12 kills/.450, 10 blocks) to earn ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors and become the third Bear in history to record multiple 10-block outings within a seven-day span. Junior Sawyer Thomsen followed up her strong 2024 campaign under Andreno with a hot start in 2025, posting three outings with double-digit kills in her first seven matches, while senior Sophie Scott finished her Cal career in strong fashion (including a 10-kill, .714 outing in the Bears’ home finale against Boston College).
Andreno coached a pair of outstanding middle blockers in Hayden and Thomsen for the 2024 season. Hayden was Cal’s most efficient hitter, averaging .324 on the year; in the second week of November, she posted 23 kills and zero errors (.605) across two matches. Thomsen recorded the best season by any Cal blocker in several years: her 111 total blocks were the most by a Golden Bear since 2013, while her average of 1.05 blocks per set were the most by a Cal player since 2018.
Andreno, a former professional middle blocker for SCU Emlichheim, arrived at Cal from Winthrop, where she was an assistant coach for the past two seasons. During her tenure at Winthrop, she saw the Eagles earn a combined 12 All-Big-South honors, including the 2022 Big South Freshman of the Year. In her first year, Andreno helped oversee the improvement of an Eagles defense that held opponents to just .175 hitting, leading to a third-place finish in the Big South and a semifinals appearance in the conference tournament. Winthrop appeared in the NIVC Tournament the next year after a Big South title match appearance and a second-place regular-season finish. Prior to joining the staff at Winthrop, Andreno lent her coaching experience to K2 Volleyball Club and Knoxville Catholic High School, helping the latter reach the State title match in 2020.
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As a four-year player at Tennessee (2016-19), Andreno was part of a Tennessee team that had the biggest single-season turnaround in program history, finishing second in the SEC on the way to the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. She was among the team’s top-five blockers each year, leading the Lady Vols as a senior while also posting team top-five totals in kills and service aces. After her final season, Andreno was recognized as a nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. She earned a slew of high-level academic and community service honors throughout her collegiate career, graduating from Tennessee with a degree in recreation and sport management as well as a minor in business. She earned a master’s degree in business administration with distinction from the University of East London, at which she also competed on the volleyball team.
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