Cal Adds Four Transfers To 2022 Roster

BERKELEY – Head coach Meagan Owusu announced the addition of four transfers to the roster for the 2022 team. The Bears will add Ana Costa, Ashley Delgado, Lexi McKeown and Natalie Martin to the squad for this coming season.
 
"This group of talented transfers will add some experience and depth to our program," Owusu said. "We had eight players make their collegiate debut last season, so it will be impactful for us to bring in an AVCA All-American in Ana Costa and players who have experience playing at top programs like Lexi, Natalie and Ashley. This group will help us take the next step as a program." 
 
Ana Costa joins the Bears from Stetson University after being named as part of the Atlantic Sun Pair of the Year and earning second team All-America honors from the AVCA in 2021. She went 23-9 in 2021 while paired with Carly Perales on Stetson's top pair. The duo became the first-ever pair to win four ASUN Pair of the Week Awards in one season. She was also named to the ASUN All-Tournament team and was first team All-ASUN for the second time in three seasons with the Hatters. She finished her career with a 61-25 record and finished eighth in school history in wins and ninth in winning percentage despite playing only three seasons. She was also a two-time member of ASUN Honor Roll.
 
Prior to Stetson she played one season for St. Petersburg College and was named SPC Freshman of the Year. She also was Brazil's U19 national champion in 2015 and earned third-place finishes at the U21 and U23 national tournaments in 2015 and 2016. She helped Brazil to a fourth-place finish in the FIVB U19 World Championship in 2016. 
 
Ashley Delgado is a native of Novato, California but she joins the Bears from Tulane University. Delgado had a standout debut campaign for the Green Wave as she went 23-13 in 2018 while playing throughout the lineup, including a 6-4 record at the No. 2 spot as a freshman. She followed that with a 1-1 record in 2019 before injuries wiped out the next couple of seasons.
 
Delgado went to Branson High School where she was coached by Cal's volunteer assistant coach Dancer Styles. She also played for Styles at the Golden Gate Volleyball Club. Delgado also played in AVP Pro Beach Tour Qualifiers, teaming up with current Bear Katie Smoot in 2016 for two tournaments together. She comes to Cal with one year remaining of eligibility after graduating from Tulane with a degree in marketing and advertising.
 
Lexi McKeown joins the Bears from Florida State. The Laguna Beach, California native had a 6-1 career record while playing for the Seminoles, including a 4-0 mark during the 2020 season while playing at the No. 5 spot in the lineup. She also had a 1-1 mark while competing in the USAV College Pairs Championship Qualifying as a freshman. She was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2019.
 
McKeown was a highly touted recruit coming out of Laguna Beach High School as she was an AVCA High School Beach Second Team All-American and earned a gold medal in the INVL Southern California Pair Championships. She also won a bronze medal at the AVP First U18 National Championships in 2018. She comes to Cal with two years of eligibility remaining and will be molecular cell biology.
 
Natalie Martin comes to Cal from LSU where she had limited experience in her first two campaigns with the Tigers. Martin won her only match as she played in the fourth pair with Taryn Kloth vs. Spring Hill College. Martin won 21-5, 21-6 in her collegiate debut in 2020. 
 
Martin will have three years of eligibility remaining at Cal. She was a prep star at Oak Ridge High School in Mission Texas as she was named to the AVCA Under Armour All-American Watch List for the indoor team prior to her senior season and led Oak Ridge to two district titles while being named an all-district player three times.