Volleyball

Still sitting at 0-8, Cal must fight hard against the two highly ranked Washington rivals if they have any hopes of winning.

Seasonal depression seems to be settling in early this year for Cal volleyball as it racks up its eighth straight loss in Pac-12 conference play.

Coming off a sweep to the hands of Oregon State — the only other winless conference team entering the contest — the Bears have easily hit the lowest point of the season. At 0-6 in conference play, Cal sits in the Pac-12 basement midway through its season.

The Oregon rivalry racked up two wins against Cal, the Bears falter to 0-6.

If Cal can’t take care of business, especially against the drowning Beavers, then the season is all but a wash. But a win or two will propel the Bears forward, and stave off hibernation for just a little longer.

In their eight season losses, the Bears have only won an even number set three times. And that trend continued during this week’s losses to Arizona and Arizona State.

While Cal volleyball started as well as one could against tough competition, the blue and gold ultimately dropped five straight sets en route to a 0-2 start to conference play.

The Pac-12 conference is certainly an unforgiving powerhouse when it comes to volleyball, and Cal’s two first games coming against top teams in the conference are only the beginning of the tough journey that lies before them.

The Bears will need to take all the lessons they have learned in the preseason — especially the ability to push through the tough sets — into their demanding conference schedule if they are to find success.

After a resounding sweep of Nevada, the tournament host lost its winning streak as it was downed by NDSU and Butler in back-to-back games.