The California beach volleyball team will play its usual stacked slate of competition according to its 2026 schedule that was announced Friday.

The Golden Bears, coming off their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship, have 18 scheduled duals against opponents who finished last season ranked in the final AVCA Top 20 – and five who placed in the top 5. Cal also has 13 matches against teams that advanced to the 2025 NCAA Championship.

The Bears open the season Feb. 19-21 at the Outrigger DUKE Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Honolulu, where they will be joined by four teams that advanced to last year's NCAA Championship, including 2025 national runner-up Loyola Marymount. Cal will also face off against Stanford, Texas, USC, UCLA and host Hawai'i.

Cal will play the first of two home weekends this season Feb. 27-28 in what is expected to be the final year at the Clark Kerr Sand Courts before moving into the Banatao Family Beach Volleyball Stadium in 2027. The Bears will host Northern California foes Sac State, UC Davis, USF and Pacific over the two-day span in the Battle of the Bay.

Other teams on the schedule that finished last year in the top-20 include Cal Poly, Florida State, LSU, Arizona State and Grand Canyon.

The Cal Classic will take place April 3-4 against UC Davis and San Jose State, with the final day serving as Senior Day.

The 2026 MPSF Championships are set for April 22-24 at Spiker Beach in Manhattan Beach while the NCAA Championship will take place May 1-3 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The Bears went 27-10 last season and finished ranked No. 9 in the final AVCA poll. They return AVCA First-Team All-Americans Portia Sherman and Emma Donley as well as All-MPSF Second-Team selection Gia Fisher.
 
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