California Golden Bears Athletics
California
4-1,0-0ACC
Stephen F. Austin
2-3,0-0Southland
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 25 | 22 | 12 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| SFA | 18 | 25 | 25 | 16 | 11 | 2 |
Sawyer Thomsen's MVP Performance Lifts Cal Over SFA
9/5/2026 12:49 PM | Volleyball
In their second and final game of the SFA Tournament in Nacogdoches, the Golden Bears took on the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks.
Fresh off a quick sweep of Loyola Chicago on Friday, the Bears picked up where they left off. Cal skated to a 25-18 first-set victory, hitting at a .500 clip, but came back down to earth in the second. After a lackluster first set, SFA sprinted to a 7-1 lead in the second. The Bears eventually crawled back to cut the lead to 16-10 and even went on to score on seven of the next eight possessions.
Cal tied the set at 18, 21 and 22, but was unable to pull off the comeback, losing 25-22. When the third set rolled around, the Golden Bears looked like a completely different team.
The Ladyjacks went up 6-5 and never looked back, as SFA went on to win the set 25-12. The third set also saw Cal head coach Jen Malcom turn to the bench, with Maria Stribu and Annemarie O'Gara making their first appearances of the year, while Francesca Popescu made her first appearance of the tournament.
Just when the Golden Bears seemed to be trending toward a collapse, they reset in the fourth set and pulled off the 25-16 win. Malcom turned back to her starters, with Anna Flores and Abby Zimmerman both finding some much-needed momentum, while senior middle blocker Sawyer Thomsen took over.
Cal rode that momentum into the fifth and final set, pulling off a 15-11 win.
AWARDS
Tournament MVP-Sawyer Thomsen
All-Tournament Team-Sophia Johnson, Abby Zimmerman
KEY FIGURES
15 — The number of kills that true freshman Abby Zimmerman recorded.
.550 — Sawyer Thomsen's hitting percentage to go along with her 11 kills.
20 — The number of digs that Sophia Johnson racked up.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Cal will stay on the road, heading from Texas to South Carolina for a clash with the Gamecocks in this year's Showdown at the Net.
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