Cal Athletics
Preslie Anderson, Lauren Forte and Mima Mirkovic have all joined the Cal program.
VB11/21/2016 8:10 AM | By: Cal Athletics
Bears Sign Three Top-100 Prospects
BERKELEY – The Cal volleyball program has signed three high school All-Americans that are each ranked in the top-100 nationally to binding contracts to become Golden Bears, head coach
Rich Feller announced Wednesday.
Preslie Anderson, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker from Chandler, Ariz., and Lauren Forte, a 6-3 middle blocker from Tempe, Ariz. each signed a National Letter of Intent and will enroll at Cal next fall. Mima Mirkovic, a 5-11 outside hitter from Irvine, Calif., has signed a financial aid agreement and will graduate early from Woodbridge High School and enroll at Cal next semester.
The Bears are also expected to add additional new student-athletes during the spring signing period in April.
"I believe this recruiting class is one of the best we've had with the positions that we are filling," Feller said. "I am very, very excited about the future of Cal Volleyball. We are going to continue to strive to return to that excellence we are known for."
Anderson is ranked as the No. 38 "Senior Ace" nationally by PrepVolleyball.com and was recently named an Under Armour Second Team All-American. She has earned multiple All-America honors from PrepVolleyball.com as well.
"Preslie is very, very athletic and brings to the court a high volleyball IQ," Feller said. "She has an exceptional work ethic. She is going to be very prepared for the college game by the time she gets here."
Forte is the No. 43 Senior Ace in the country and also made the Under Armour All-America Second Team.
"Lauren is a great athlete and really long," Feller said. "She will have a huge presence at the net blocking and attacking and probably is going to be one of the bigger, rangier middles that we've had in our program in a long time. I'm looking forward to having that kind of size at the net again."
Mirkovic, who will enroll at Cal in January and immediately be eligible to train with the team during the spring, is PrepVolleyball.com's No. 72 Senior Ace who is an Under Armour Third Team All-American. She was also a member of the U.S. Youth National Team.
"Mima is truly a unique athlete," Feller said. "She has good all-around skills in the front and back row. We expect her to be very ready for the college game. She brings a huge competitive attitude to the court."
The Bears have two matches remaining in the 2016 season, including their final home match of the year Wednesday against Oregon State. The match begins at 3 p.m., and it will be preceded by a special ceremony to honor the team's seniors.