BERKELEY – The Golden Bears continue their road stint with a trip to Southern California for a Friday-Sunday matchup.
 
California (11-10, 3-7 Pac-12), which pulled off its first conference sweep of the season last Sunday at Oregon State, faces the No. 20 Bruins of UCLA (11-6, 6-4 Pac-12) to open the weekend at 7 p.m. (PT) and will close its four-game tour at No. 15 USC (15-6, 7-3 Pac-12) on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will be streamed on Pac-12.com.
 
After pulling in the third win of conference play, Cal's Lauren Forte was recognized as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after recording a .500 attacking percentage, 13 kills, 9.0 total blocks and erring just three times over the weekend. The redshirt freshman also averaged 2.0 blocks per set in Cal's 3-0 rout of the Beavers.
 
The middle blockers continue to be an integral part of the Bears' success with Forte ranked fifth in the nation in blocks per set (1.57) and second in the league, while sophomore middle Preslie Anderson tops the Pac-12 with a .390 attacking rate, which ranks 17th nationally.
 
Mima Mirkovic also consistently produces on both sides of the ball for the Bears as she paces the team with 249 kills and 247 digs. Last time out, the sophomore outside hitter tallied 11 kills with a .409 hitting percentage in Cal's lopsided win over OSU.
 
That momentum will serve well for the Bears as they enter the back-half of the conference schedule.
 
"We're looking forward to the second time around in the Pac-12," said head coach Jennifer Dorr. "Our previous matches with both teams were hard fought battles and we look forward to challenging both teams again in LA.
 
"This is the time of year when teams start to break out or fall in conference. We all have a lot of film on each other and now it's just a battle of who can execute when the match is on the line."
Cal will have much to prove against both the Bruins and the Trojans looking for its first win against either program since at least 2014. The Bears, who are on the unfortunate side of an 8-64 series record against the Bruins, last downed UCLA on Nov. 3, 2013. However, Cal proved competitive when it hosted UCLA earlier in the season, forcing five sets and ultimately falling by two points.
 
The Bears last outing against the Trojans was less dramatic, but Cal took the first set before giving up three straight. The Bears have only won a pair of sets against the Trojans in the last six contests and trail 12-59 in the all-time matchup.
 
However, despite the historical disadvantage, Cal has split victories the last three weekends, defeating a pair of top-25 opponents in that span. The Bears took down a No. 21 Washington State (3-1) and a No. 24 Utah (3-2) before blanking Oregon State. Both wins against the Utes and the Beavers were on the road.
 
Scouting UCLA

• Recently fell 3-0 to Washington State in Pullman, Wash., which clipped a four-game win streak
• Led by Mac May with 241 kills and 3.77 kills per set which ranks seventh in the conference
• Has been outhit by opponents 855-815, but have proven more efficient with a .212 overall hitting percentage, while limiting foes to .200

 
Scouting USC

• Fell 3-2 to Washington in Pullman, Wash., in its most recent outing to end a three-game win streak
• Led by Brooke Botkin's 4.36 kills per set and Khalia Lanier's 4.35 k/s which rank third and fourth in the league, respectively
• Accumulated 124 aces on the season, while only allowing 78 from opponents

 
Cal Opens the Dorr
The Bears will have a new body in their front chair as Jennifer Dorr opens her collegiate head coaching career in the 2018 season. Dorr, a former standout setter at Hawai'i, is a familiar face around the program after joining Cal's staff under legendary coach Rich Feller in 2009 as the Director of Operations. In 2011, the Newport Beach, Calif., native, was promoted to assistant coach for the Bears and contributed to three NCAA Tournament appearances, three top-10 recruiting classes, four All-America honors, 15 All-Pac-12 selections, the 2011 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, 40 Pac-12 All-Academic selections, and three CoSIDA Academic All-District picks. Notably, Dorr is the lone coach in program history to finish a nonconference slate undefeated at home in their first season. Dorr, who is married to former Cal All-American swimmer John Dorr, is a mom of two twin girls Lily and Piper and raises them in the same manner in which she was raised, on the volleyball courts.
 
Built Forte Tough
Lauren Forte has recovered from a slow start this season to become a top-two conference force at the net with a current block per set average of 1.57 which ranks fifth in the nation. On Oct. 14, the Tempe, Ariz., native, recorded 11.0 total blocks in the Bears big win over a then-21st-ranked Washington State to mark Cal's second top-25 takedown of the season (the first was at Utah on Oct. 7 in a 3-2 decision). Forte's performance against the Cougars was the most blocks in a single game since 2012, when Kat Brown recorded 12.0 on Nov. 8 against Wazzu in Berkeley. Forte continued to be a human wall recording a 2.0 blocks per set at Oregon State on Oct. 21. After combining for 9.0 total blocks and .500 hitting percentage during the Bears weekend in Oregon, Forte picked up Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor, her first and the team's first weekly honor this season.
 
Preslie Anderson: Middle Child, Middle Blocker
Undoubtedly the emotional and vocal leader of the team, Preslie Anderson also leads in attacking percentage with a .390 clip. That note currently leads the Pac-12. Anderson has found herself perfectly positioned in the middle, both on the court and in her family. Recently, the sophomore from Chandler, Ariz., opened up about the uniqueness of growing up as a middle child in a competitive family laden with collegiate athletes. Anderson's father Mike was a two-time All-American at Arizona State, while her older brother Ian plays football at South Dakota School of Mines. More than a handful of her mother Nancy's siblings have played at least one sport in college. Nancy is 1 of 10. More on Anderson's life in the middle can be found in the full feature Middle Child, Middle Blocker on CalBears.com.
 
SAVSTRONG
Cal middle blocker Savannah Rennie returned to the court for the first time since 2016 against Portland State on Sept. 7 recording six kills, three blocks and two digs. Those numbers paled in comparison to the simple fact that she was back in action after battling another serious medical condition. Rennie made her college debut in 2016 after sitting out her freshman season because of a liver transplant. She went on to play in 12 matches that year, but was sidelined again last season after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Post-Transplant Lymphoma. Rennie went through treatments and returned in time for spring workouts last semester. Rennie came to Cal as the No. 20 "Senior Ace" by PrepVolleyball.com. Highlighting Rennie's return, Cal's Jonathan Okanes published 'Inspiring Vulnerability' on Sept. 6 to detail the remarkable journey with quotes from the junior about her return courtside.
 
Carmen Continues at Cal
Senior outside hitter Carmen Annevelink, who earns it in the classroom, just as much as she has on the court, opted to remain with the Bears and complete her collegiate playing eligibility this season. The integrative biology major finished her required credits to graduate in the spring of 2018, but was not ready to walk away from the court so soon. A two-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection, Annevelink returns as one of Cal's kills leaders from last year, tied for the second-most kills on the team with sophomore Mima Mirkovic, recording 264 kills apiece in 2017.
 
Seven Newcomers
The 2018 roster lists seven new names, six which are freshman and one junior college transfer. Freshmen include recently named starting setter Jade Blevins (Laguna Beach, Calif.), Bella Bergmark (Larkspur, Calif.), Gabby Bellizzi (Ladera Ranch, Calif.), Jessica Houghton (Menlo Park, Calif.) who comes from a family of Stanford graduates, Makana Meyer (Burbank, Calif.), and Darian Clark (Phoenix, Ariz.) who ranked among the top 250 recruits in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com and was a three-time AVCA Phenom pick. The Bears also welcome junior Morgan Wright (Wheatland, Calif.), a transfer from West Valley College. An All-Coast Conference selection while at West Valley, Wright is one of two walk-ons, along with Houghton.

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