California Golden Bears Athletics
California
13-4,3-3ACC
Notre Dame
4-11,1-5ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Notre Dame | 18 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
Cal Sweeps Notre Dame In South Bend
10/11/2026 12:08 PM | Volleyball
The Golden Bears Pulled Off Their Third Sweep Of The Year
For the second leg of their latest ACC road trip, the California Golden Bears (12-4) were in South Bend, Indiana, for a meeting with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-10).
The Bears came into Sunday looking to bounce back from their loss to No. 3 Louisville earlier in the week, but also build off the positives from that match, which saw them hand the Cardinals their first set loss in ACC play. While the box score in this one indicates it was relatively back-and-forth, the Bears felt in control throughout the entirety of the match.
The first set saw the Bears and Fighting Irish go point for point through the first nine points, but Cal blew it open, scoring six of the next seven points. From that point forward, Notre Dame was unable to cut the lead to less than four as the Golden Bears went on to win 25-18.
The second set was identical to the first in the sense that the two teams were deadlocked for the first 10 or so points. However, in the blink of an eye, the Bears went on a run and were all of a sudden up 17-12. Notre Dame was able to get it to 19-15 at one point, but the Bears went on a 6-0 run to end the set, 25-15, with senior middle blocker Sawyer Thomsen accounting for three of the final six points.
The Bears and Irish again exchanged points in the third set until the score reached 7-7, but the Golden Bears' offense continued its hot streak. With the Bears leading 16-13, Cal pulled off another streak, this time scoring seven unanswered points. The Golden Bears finished off the match with a 25-15 victory, securing their third sweep of the season as they moved to 13-4 on the year.
KEY FIGURES
13 — The number of kills that senior Ashley Li racked up while hitting .400, marking the third time this season she has hit .400 or better.
3 — The number of players who recorded 10 or more digs, with Abby Zimmerman (10), Anna Flores (14) and Sophia Johnson (16) all shining defensively.
.423 — The team's combined hitting percentage in the victory.
2 — The number of players who recorded a double-double, with freshman setter Anna Flores recording 31 assists and 14 digs, while freshman outside hitter Abby Zimmerman racked up 10 digs and 11 kills.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will return home this week and play host to NC State on Friday and Wake Forest on Sunday.
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal volleyball, please follow the Bears on X (@CalVolleyball), Instagram (@calvolleyball), Facebook (Cal Volleyball), and TikTok (@calbearsvb).
