The California Golden Bears women’s volleyball team began their 2025 season with a win over San Diego State, defeating the Aztecs in four sets (25-21, 26-28, 25-12, 25-22) at Haas Pavilion. The match marked the opening contest of the three-day California Tournament.
Head coach Jen Malcom highlighted improvements in the team’s defensive and serving performance. “The defensive effort has improved for sure,” Malcom said. “The biggest thing that improved was the serving. We spent a lot of time on that (this offseason) and it really paid off.”
California recorded 11 service aces with only five errors, surpassing its previous best under Malcom by three aces. Six players contributed at least one ace each, with senior Mikayla Hayden leading with three.
Senior Peyton DeJardin led all players with 15 kills, while Natalie Lau tallied 33 assists in her first start as setter. On defense, Sophia Johnson and Francesca Popescu registered double-digit digs—19 and 13 respectively—and both Hayden and transfer Ashleigh Woodruff posted five blocks each. Freshman Arissa Carbonara made her collegiate debut as a starter, finishing with 10 kills, two aces, seven digs, and three blocks.
Carbonara’s first career kill started a six-point run early in Set One that gave Cal a lead they maintained throughout the set. DeJardin added consecutive kills to extend the advantage before an ace from Popescu secured the set for Cal.
Set Two saw multiple lead changes and ties before San Diego State edged out Cal to even the match. In Set Three, California held San Diego State to a -.093 hitting percentage and produced several key rallies featuring strong serving from Hayden and blocking from Woodruff and Dominique Phills.
In the final set, Cal built an early lead but had to respond after San Diego State surged ahead late in the frame. Carbonara delivered two consecutive aces during Cal’s comeback run before DeJardin finished the match with a decisive kill.
California will next face San Francisco at Haas Pavilion on Sunday.
