Cal Volleyball: Golden Bears Stun Defending National Champion Stanford

Cal had lost 16 straight matches against its rival, winless since November 2011

It’s been a good week for Cal sports teams against rival Stanford.

Five days after the Cal men’s water polo team knocked off top-ranked Stanford, the Bears scored a five-set women’s volleyball upset of defending the national champion Cardinal at Haas Pavilion on Friday night.

It was the Bears’ first win over Stanford in the sport since Nov. 25, 2011, and the first for Cal under second-year coach Sam Crosson.

Cal entered the match winless in six matches this season against UCLA, Utah and Colorado, but pulled off an 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12 victory.

The Bears had dropped their past 16 matches to Stanford and entered the day with an all-time record of 12-78 against the Cardinal.

"Exceptionally proud of our players today," Crosson said. "From the way they battled together today as a group to the resilience they showed through the ebbs and flow of the match, it was a special day for them and I think the program as a whole. 

"The players are starting to see the impact of the areas that we have been working on in practice and applying those skill sets to the game and today was a good validation for our team that we are heading in the right direction".

Stanford had its first four matches of the season canceled because the team was not allowed to practice under Santa Clara County COVID-19 restrictions. Stanford lost twice at Arizona in its opening matches last weekend, leaving them ranked No. 15 nationally this week.

But the Cardinal is one of the sport’s powerhouse programs, having won three of the past four NCAA championships.

While the Cardinal is playing so far without star senior Meghan McClure, its lineup is packed with top-100 national recruits. 

Cal sophomore middle blocker Bella Bergmark — who attended Marin Catholic High School, same alma mater as former Bears star quarterback Jared Goff — delivered the match-winning kill.

Cal freshman Lydia Grote celebrates with a teammate

Photo by Kelley L. Cox, KLC fotos

Katrina Pantovic, a freshman outside hitter from Vancouver, B.C., recorded her first double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs.

"It's huge to not only beat our cross-bay rival, but to do it against such a great program and to get our first win against them since 2011 in a gritty, five-set match is a great feeling," Pantovic said. 

Senior setter and team captain Isabel Potter had a match-best 23 digs along with 33 assists and five service aces. Gabby Bellizzi added 20 digs. Lydia Grote contributed nine kills, four blocks and three service aces.

Crosson said the Bears' serving was a key to the victory.

"We want to be able to apply pressure from the service line on a consistent basis and I thought tonight I thought we did a very good job of that".

The Bears and Cardinal meet again Sunday at Maples Pavilion. The match will be shown on the Pac-12 Network at 5 p.m.

"Sunday will be another great opportunity for us to go out and compete," Crosson said. "The experience our roster is getting right now is invaluable for our future and I know the players will be ready to battle again this weekend".

In the meantime, the top-ranked Cal women’s swim team visits No. 10 Stanford for a meet Saturday at noon.

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo