Cal Beach Heads To Arizona For Wildcat Invite

POLL POSITION
The Bears have reached a lot of benchmarks this season, and checked off another one when they tied for their highest ranking ever in the AVCA national poll at No. 14. Cal was also ranked No. 14 for three weeks early last season. The Bears also moved up to No. 12 in the DiG Magazine poll this week.

SIGNIFICANT VICTORY
When the Bears toppled No. 11 Arizona at the Pac-12 South Tournament, it marked the highest-ranked opponent Cal had ever beaten. The previous highest-ranked foe the Bears had defeated was No. 14 Loyola Marymount on the first day of the 2016 season. Ironically, Cal almost defeated No. 9 Arizona on that same day in 2016, losing 3-2 and dropping one of the matches in three sets.

FRESHMEN MAKE IMPACT
The Bears have four freshmen in their regular playing rotation and they have all already made their impact on the program. The all-freshmen pair of Mima Mirkovic and Alexia Inman have been dominant so far, going 14-3 while playing the past 13 duals as the team’s No. 1 pair. Freshman Caroline Schafer is 15-2, having gone 14-1with partner Mia Merino on the No. 4 pair and 1-1 with fellow freshman Maddie Micheletti, also at No. 4. Micheletti, meanwhile, is also 15-2, having gone 13-1 at No. 5 playing with junior Grace Campbell.

MIRKOVIC BRINGS INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS TO CAL
Before freshman Mima Mirkovic even played a point for the Bears, she was already an accomplished beach volleyball player. Mirkovic won back-to-back bronze medals as the FIVB World Championships in each of the past two years, taking third at the Under-19 championships in 2016 and repeating the feat last year at the Under-21 tournament.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
The Bears won the Newmark Award for having the highest cumulative team GPA of any Cal athletic team for 2016-17 (3.396). Cal had four student-athletes earn Pac-12 All-Academic recognition last season, including a second consecutive first team nod for senior Teya Neff. Senior Bryce Bark earned honorable mention for the second straight season, and junior Grace Campbell earned the same honor as well

DOUBLE DUTY
The Bears have two student-athletes who play for both Cal’s beach volleyball team and the indoor program – senior Jessica Gaffney and freshman Mima Mirkovic. Gaffney, who spent her first two collegiate seasons at USF, is part of Cal’s No. 2 pair along with sophomore Iya Lindahl after playing 16 matches on the top pair last year. She also made an impact on the indoor team, sharing time as the Bears’ starting libero last season while playing in every match as a defensive specialist as a junior. Mirkovic started every match as a freshman for the Bears’ indoor squad and tied for second on the team at 2.47 kills per set.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE
• Fell 4-1 to Cal at the Stanford Invitational on March 9
• Has won five duals in a row after dropping 10 of their first 13
• SR Kwyn Johnson and SR Mia Rivera form Sun Devils’ No. 1 pair

ABOUT NO. 17 STETSON
• Hatters were scheduled to face off against Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday
• Stetson has been nationally ranked for 32 straight weeks, dating back to 2015
• Have won 15 of their past 16 duals, outscoring opponents 68-12 during that stretch

ABOUT COLORADO MESA
• The Mavericks are an NCAA Division II program in Grand Junction, Colo.
• Colo. Mesa has faced a handful of nationally ranked Division I opponents
• Defeated Division I opponent Abilene Christian last weekend, 5-0

ABOUT NO. 15 ARIZONA
• Wins over two ranked opponents – Washington and Cal Poly
• Won 3 of 4 last weekend at the LSU Tournament
• Fell to Cal 4-1 at the Pac-12 South Tournament last month