California volleyball will begin its 2025 season by hosting San Diego State and San Francisco at the California Tournament this weekend. The tournament, held at Haas Pavilion, opens Friday evening with the Golden Bears facing the Aztecs at 6 p.m. PT. On Saturday, San Diego State will play San Francisco at 2 p.m., and on Sunday, Cal meets the Dons at 1 p.m.
Both of Cal’s matches are scheduled to be broadcast on ACCNX, while the match between San Diego State and San Francisco will not be streamed.
The Golden Bears finished their 2024 campaign with a record of 15-17 overall and 7-13 in conference play under first-year head coach Jen Malcom. The team ended last season with three consecutive wins. This year’s roster includes nine returning players from last year, along with five freshmen and two transfers.
Cal’s opening opponent, San Diego State, recorded a 20-10 overall record (11-7 Mountain West) in 2024—its first time reaching 20 wins in twelve years—and finished fifth in its conference. The Aztecs return Taylor Underwood, an All-Mountain West Preseason Team selection who led the team with 356 kills last year, as well as Gianna Bender, who had 417 digs to help limit opponents’ hitting percentage to .198. New additions for San Diego State include four freshmen and three transfers.
The Bears have met the Aztecs seven times previously, holding a 2-5 all-time record but winning their most recent matchup in August 2022.
San Francisco finished fifth in the West Coast Conference last season with a record of 17-13 (10-8), marking its highest win total since 2015. The Dons led their conference in blocks and ranked among the top five teams for hitting percentage (.233), digs (1,734), assists per set (11.49), and points per set (16.40). Their roster features eleven new players—including six freshmen and five transfers—and returning standout Astrid Puig.
Cal has won its last meeting against both upcoming opponents: defeating San Diego State in straight sets in August 2022 and edging out San Francisco in five sets in August 2024. Against the Dons, Cal holds a dominant all-time record of 37-2.
Looking ahead to this season, Cal will feature four middle blockers: senior Mikayla Hayden—who posted a .324 hitting percentage last year and has led Cal in blocks for two seasons; junior Sawyer Thomsen—who started every match last season and recorded the most total blocks by a Bear since 2013; redshirt junior Sophie Scott—returning after missing all of last season due to injury; and transfer Ashleigh Woodruff from Stony Brook.
Senior setter Natalie Lau is expected to start again this year after taking over that role early last season due to an injury to her teammate. She will be joined by her sister Elise Lau—a freshman defensive specialist—making them one of only two pairs of sisters playing together on Power Four teams this season. “According to head coach Jen Malcom, the Laus are ‘two of the most competitive players on our team.’ This will be the first year that they have played on any team together, having grown up too far apart in age to be part of the same high school or club squads.”
The squad welcomes seven newcomers: freshmen Francesca Popescu (defensive specialist), Elise Lau (defensive specialist), Arissa Carbonara (outside hitter), Annemarie O’Gara (opposite), Maria ?tirbu (setter); as well as transfers Dominique Phills (outside hitter) and Ashleigh Woodruff (middle blocker). These additions bring national team experience, All-America honors, state-level recognition, and collegiate tournament success to Cal’s roster.
“Cal brings seven new players to its roster this season in the form of five freshmen and two transfers, making up nearly half of the Bears’ squad,” according to team information.
For further updates about California volleyball throughout the season, fans can follow @CalVolleyball on X/Twitter, Instagram (@calvolleyball), Facebook (Cal Volleyball), or TikTok (@calbearsvb).
