Bears Travel To LBSU/UCI Invitational

LBSU/UCI MIZUNO INVITATIONAL
Friday, Sept. 2
At Walter Pyrmaid
California (2-0) vs. Long Beach State (1-2), 1 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 3
At Bren Events Center
Northeastern (3-1) vs. Cal, 10 a.m.
Cal vs. UC Irvine (1-2), 7 p.m.

The Cal volleyball team embarks on its first road trip of the season for the LBSU/UCI MIzuno Invitational this weekend. The Bears are coming off a successful season-opening Molten Classic, in which they defeated Southern Utah and UC Riverside and middle blocker Jenelle Jordan was named the tournament most valuable player.

BEAR NECESSITIES: CAL'S TOP STORYLINES, STREAKS & TRENDS

JORDAN DOMINATES MOLTEN CLASSIC
Middle blocker Jenelle Jordan got her senior season off to a smashing start with a couple of dominating performances at last weekend's Molten Classic at Haas Pavilion. Jordan hit a staggering .632 for the tournament while averaging 3.13 kills per set and throwing in three aces, six blocks and seven digs. Her hitting percentage leads the Pac-12 after the first weeek of the season and puts her at No. 4 in the country.

RISING UP
Senior libero Maddy Kerr is poised to make a run at Cal's all-time digs mark this season, and she couldn't have gotten off to a better start last weekend. Kerr averaged 5.63 digs over two matches, including a 30-dig performance against UC Riverside. After the second 30-dig match of her career, Kerr now has 1,396 for her career, putting her 11 shy of fourth place on the Bears' career list. Kerr, the daughter of Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, leads the Pac-12 in dig average after the first week of the year.

SAVANNAH'S STORY
Cal outside hitter Savannah Rennie is back with the team just over three months after receiving a liver transplant at the Indiana University Transplant Center. Diagnosed last Septemer with Congential Hepatic Fibrosis with Portal Hypertension, Rennie received the transplant in May and returned to Berkeley by the start of training camp at the beginning of August. The redshirt freshman has been practicing in a limited fashion so far and there is no timetable yet for her return. Rennie was PrepVolleyball.com's No. 20 Senior Ace coming out of Torrey Pines HIgh School in San Diego.

LLOYD EARNS BRONZE MEDAL
Former Cal standout Carli Lloyd played on the U.S. Olympic Team that captured the bronze medal this summer in Rio. Lloyd, who was the AVCA National Player of the Year in 2010, was the backup setter for Team USA. She led the Bears to two NCAA Final Four appearances during her collegiate career, including a trip to the national title match in 2010. Lloyd was a three-time All-American at Cal.

KERR MAKES MARK IN CLASSROOM
Senior Maddy Kerr became just the second Cal volleyball student-athlete ever to earn Pac-12 All-Academic First Team honors last season. Kerr has a cumulative GPA of 3.72 while double-majoring in Media Studies and Rhetoric. She was Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention as a sophomore.

ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE
• Received 25 votes in preseason AVCA Top-25 before suffering a pair of losses last week
• SR Nele Barber was an All-Big West First Team selection last season
• JR Ashley Murray was the Big West Freshman of the Year in 2014
• LAST MEETING: Cal d. LBSU, 3-1 (11-29-03)

ABOUT NORTHEASTERN
• Huskies went 3-1 at season-opening Florida Atlantic Invitational
• SO L Gabrielle Eyl and SO OH Laynie Whitehead were named to the All-Tournament Team
• SR Jamie Bredahl was named to the Preseason All-CAA Team
• LAST MEETING: Cal d. N'Eastern, 3-0 (8-25-07)

ABOUT UC IRVINE
• Anteaters upset No. 7 USC at season-opening Baden Invitational
• UC Irvine was picked to finish fourth in the Big West
• SO Harlee Kekauoha was an All-Big West First Team pick as a freshman
• LAST MEETING: UCI d. Cal, 3-2 (8-28-09)