California Golden Bears Athletics
Cal Unable To Pull Off Upset Against No. 5 SMU
9/27/2026 2:05 PM | Volleyball
The Golden Bears Couldn't Capitalize On Early Momentum
There may not have been a more difficult slate to open ACC play than the one the California Golden Bears had. After falling to No. 2 Pitt on the road Friday, the Bears took a flight to Dallas to face the No. 5 SMU Mustangs.
The Panthers and Mustangs had won a combined 60 straight matches at their respective home courts and were each expected to make deep runs in the tournament. Despite all the buzz around SMU, the Golden Bears came out swinging in this one, taking the lead in the first set and never looking back. There wasn't a single tie or lead change in the opening set, with Cal taking impressive leads of 8-4 and 19-13 before pulling off the 25-19 victory.
The Bears were striking the ball at an elite clip, posting a hitting percentage of .538 while outpacing SMU's .400. Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, they were unable to sustain that level of success, as their hitting percentage went on to drop significantly in each of the final three sets, going from .214 to .074 to .087.
As for SMU, the Mustangs found a way to feed their heavy hitters, Suli Davis and Favor Anyanwu, who combined for an emphatic 35 kills, with Davis racking up 26. The Mustangs raced to a 25-16 second-set victory, and the momentum of the match seemed to shift in their favor from that point forward.
Cal put up a strong fight in the third set as it looked to answer and take a 2-1 lead, but the Bears were unable to close the gap. SMU led by as many as seven points, but Cal clawed its way back into the set near the end. The Bears were able to cut the lead to 23-20, but eventually fell 25-20. The fourth and final set saw Cal keep up with SMU at first, as the teams were deadlocked at each point until they reached 8-8.
However, in the blink of an eye, SMU forced mistakes and found all of the openings. Before anyone knew what had happened, SMU was up 21-11. Cal scraped a few points together to close the gap, but ultimately lost 25-15. With the second straight loss, the Golden Bears fall to 10-3 on the season.
KEY FIGURES
11 — The number of kills Abby Zimmerman totaled en route to leading the team in the category.
9 — The number of kills Sawyer Thomsen racked up en route to posting a .562 hitting percentage.
1,000 — Senior libero Sophia Johnson secured her 1,000th career dig this weekend.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Cal will return to Haas Pavilion for its next two matches, marking the first time since the end of August that the Bears will play at home. Cal will play host to Virginia and Virginia Tech.
The Panthers and Mustangs had won a combined 60 straight matches at their respective home courts and were each expected to make deep runs in the tournament. Despite all the buzz around SMU, the Golden Bears came out swinging in this one, taking the lead in the first set and never looking back. There wasn't a single tie or lead change in the opening set, with Cal taking impressive leads of 8-4 and 19-13 before pulling off the 25-19 victory.
The Bears were striking the ball at an elite clip, posting a hitting percentage of .538 while outpacing SMU's .400. Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, they were unable to sustain that level of success, as their hitting percentage went on to drop significantly in each of the final three sets, going from .214 to .074 to .087.
As for SMU, the Mustangs found a way to feed their heavy hitters, Suli Davis and Favor Anyanwu, who combined for an emphatic 35 kills, with Davis racking up 26. The Mustangs raced to a 25-16 second-set victory, and the momentum of the match seemed to shift in their favor from that point forward.
Cal put up a strong fight in the third set as it looked to answer and take a 2-1 lead, but the Bears were unable to close the gap. SMU led by as many as seven points, but Cal clawed its way back into the set near the end. The Bears were able to cut the lead to 23-20, but eventually fell 25-20. The fourth and final set saw Cal keep up with SMU at first, as the teams were deadlocked at each point until they reached 8-8.
However, in the blink of an eye, SMU forced mistakes and found all of the openings. Before anyone knew what had happened, SMU was up 21-11. Cal scraped a few points together to close the gap, but ultimately lost 25-15. With the second straight loss, the Golden Bears fall to 10-3 on the season.
KEY FIGURES
11 — The number of kills Abby Zimmerman totaled en route to leading the team in the category.
9 — The number of kills Sawyer Thomsen racked up en route to posting a .562 hitting percentage.
1,000 — Senior libero Sophia Johnson secured her 1,000th career dig this weekend.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Cal will return to Haas Pavilion for its next two matches, marking the first time since the end of August that the Bears will play at home. Cal will play host to Virginia and Virginia Tech.
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Players Mentioned
Friday, November 08
Monday, October 21
Monday, October 21
Thursday, May 02
