It'd be easy to say that the physical differences between Cal volleyball players Kristen Kathan and Hana Cutura are the most interesting aspect of their friendship.

In terms of height, Kathan is listed at 5-foot-5, while Cutura stands almost a foot taller at 6-foot-4. Kathan has listed Danny DeVito as the person she resembles the most, whereas Cutura said she has been compared to The Incredible Hulk.

But it's the similarities rather than the differences between the two that make them so intriguing.

In fact, the only other difference that the pair can point out-other than their appearance-is table manners.

"Basically, I think the biggest difference is that when she eats, the food gets all over her," Cutura says.

"That is a lie," Kathan snaps. "It's only peanut butter."

"Peanut butter, that's food," Cutura responds. "It's really gross and I hate it. I wash my hands 20 times a day, because I'm a germophobe and I can't have dirty food all over me."

The two continue to squabble over crumbs, but it's exactly this type of humorous banter that makes them so close to one another.

Despite Kathan's likeness to DeVito and Cutura's Eastern European background, their nickname for each other, "brothers," surprisingly did not originate from the hit movie "Twins."

"It was this little party and we were dressed up the same and we had some facial hair on," Cutura recounts. "It was very nice. We looked beautiful. All of a sudden, I just started calling her 'brother,' because you know, we had beards and we were male."

The name stuck with them and soon became their calling card for each other both in and out of the game.

On the court, the two juniors represent the primary weapons on offense and defense for the No. 7 Bears. Cutura, an All-American outside hitter, leads the team in kills, aces, and points. Kathan, Cal's libero, naturally leads them in digs and serves as the vocal leader on defense.

More often than not, Kathan plays behind Cutura in rotations and informs her "brother" what areas the defense is giving her on the other side of the court, and also covers for her.

And just as the two complement each other on the court, they also rely on one another off it.

"We don't know girl drama," Kathan says. "You go home and it's so relaxed. You can do the simple things and have a simple or weird conversation. We're always laughing."

At first glance, Cutura and Kathan don't seem to fit the model of best friends, but when they start talking, it's easy to see how they have become so close. The self-proclaimed "weird" ones have never been afraid to show off their goofy side, and it was during their freshman year when this bond based off of oddity first formed.

"I just think the way we communicate with each other is very honest and blunt, to the point, and that's really refreshing, especially freshman year, when everyone can get caught up in different social scenes," Kathan says.

With their respective roommates constantly going home on weekends, Cutura and Kathan naturally gravitated towards each other that first year.

"We were just alone in the dorms and we didn't know what to do," Cutura says. "So we just hung out and watched 'Seinfeld' a lot, and that was it."

The more time they spent together, the more the two realized they were essentially one and the same. In addition to watching television together, the duo enjoys making up dances and eating at countless locales such as Cafe Intermezzo and The Original's.

The two girls spend so much time together that whenever Kathan travels back home to Moraga, Calif., Cutura usually accompanies her.

"(My family) loves her," Kathan says. "My parents think of her as another daughter, so when we go home it's like, 'The brothers are coming home.'"

When they're not busy with volleyball or trips back to Kathan's home, the two also work on developing their abilities outside the sporting world.

"We're very talented musically," Kathan says. "Not only do we have beautiful voices, but we can set tones with our whistling ability that people can't normally do. Like we can do the entire 'Star Wars' theme song perfect."

Although neither felt the need to demonstrate this unique ability, their words alone showed just how different these two are from the rest of the team.

"When they get together, they're just the goofiest people," senior Am'ra Solomon said. "I think, for sure, they're going to be the top two people I'm going to miss."

The "brothers" still have one more year with the program, and the future remains unknown for both of them.

All Cutura and Kathan know is that wherever one goes, the other won't be too far behind.

And while Kathan says she'd jump off the Bay Bridge for Cutura, her "bro" takes it one step further.

"I'd take a bullet ... But only if I wouldn't die," Cutura deadpans.

Tags: CAL VOLLEYBALL, HANA CUTURA, KRISTEN KATHAN