The Cal volleyball team is five games into Pac-12 conference play, and already the program has found itself in unfamiliar waters.
At this point last season, the squad was 13-2 and near the top of the volleyball rankings.
This year, the Bears are a mere one game above .500 and is battling through an injury-riddled roster.
The year has been a struggle, but the reason is not necessarily poor play. In any given game this season, there are usually only eight players dressed in uniform. Street clothes, crutches, knee braces and ice packs dominate the Cal bench.
Cal (8-7, 2-3) plays Oregon State at Haas Pavillion on Friday, a team — like the rest of the conference — that feels no sympathy for the hobbling Bears.
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us because we are losing players right and left,” Cal assistant coach Jenifer Carey said. “We just have to press on.”
The Bears emerged from their match against No. 2 Oregon on Wednesday night with a 3-1 loss. The team performed well above expectations,holding the Ducks to one of their lowest hitting percentages of the year.
“It’s frustrating because the bottom line is winning and losing,” Carey said. “But though it was a loss in the scorebook, it was definitely not a loss for Cal volleyball. The small victories we have are a step in the right direction.”
The Oregon game saw another Bear lost to injury, when junior Adrienne Gehan limped off the court with a knee problem.
The loss of Gehan will force freshmen like Lara Vukasovic into the spotlight. Vukasovic responded well filling in for Gehan with multiple kills against the Ducks. Whether or not she can repeat that performance may be harder considering Oregon State will key in on her.
“Gehan’s injury puts people in different spots, but they rose to the challenge,” Carey said. “Now it’s, ‘Can they back and up and do it again?’”
Oregon State, a team known for its relentless play, will exploit any weakness of the Bears, which may be the inexperienced freshman reserves.
“Oregon State has always battled in the conference,” Carey said. “We call them a real dog-eat-dog kinda team. It’s not always pretty but they are good at what they do.”
One great example of the Beaver’s gritty nature came through when they downed traditional powerhouse No. 1 Penn State in five sets on Sept. 8.
The Bears want to find success against the Beavers by controlling the game. This entails that the players focus must be on accomplishing their own tasks, not worrying about struggling teammates or the opponents.
Although Cal was better than Oregon State last year, a new season brings together two teams that are both clawing to stay in the Pac-12 hunt.
The Bears undoubtedly want to improve their dismal record, but the Beavers are not going to make it easy.
“This year there is so much parity,” Carey said. “Night in and night out it is tough to get a win. I would like to see that gap widen in our win column, but we just have to get the next match.”
Austin Crochetiere covers volleyball. Contact him at [email protected]
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