PULLMAN, Wash. — No. 4 Washington State (14-1, 4-0 Pac-12) volleyball gets set to open a four-match home stand this Friday as it welcomes Cal (12-3, 1-3 Pac-12) into Bohler Gym for the first meeting this season with the Golden Bears.  Friday's match in Bohler Gym will be brodcast live on Pac-12 Washington beginning at 7 p.m.

The Cougs carry a 13-match winning streak into Friday's matchup, the longest winning streak since a record-setting 16-match streak back in 1997.  Earlier this week, the 2023 Cougars moved up to No. 4 in the AVCA Top-25, surpassing the 1997 team for the highest national ranking in program history.

Match Info:
>> vs California (12-3, 1-3 Pac-12)   |   Opp Streak: Lost 1
>> OPP LAST THREE:  L 2-3 vs Arizona St.  // W 3-1 vs Arizona // L 2-3 at Utah
>> DATE:  Fri., Oct. 6 //  First serve: 7:04 p.m.
>> LOCATION: Pullman, Wash.  //  Bohler Gym
>> TV: Pac-12 Washington // PxP Greg Talbott
>> Media Notes PDF

RECORD WATCH
>> Pia Timmer heads into Sunday's match only 44.5 points shy of moving into second all-time in WSU history.
>> Pia Timmer sits just 22 service aces shy of setting the all-time WSU career record.
>> Julia Norville begins the week only 58 digs shy of joining the 1,000 career digs club.
>> Magda Jehlářová goes into Sunday just 84 blocks shy of becoming the all-time career leader in Pac-12 History.

SERIES HISTORY: WSU vs CALIFORNIA
>> Overall: Cal leads, 44-29
>> In Pullman: WSU leads, 20-17
>> In Berkeley: Cal leads, 25-10
>> Neutral: Cal leads, 1-0
>> In three sets: Cal leads, 25-18
>> In four sets: WSU leads, 11-10
>> In five sets: Tied 7-7
>> Under Head Coach Jen Greeny: Cal leads, 10-12
>> The Cougars have won six in a row over the Golden Bears, dating back to a five-set win for Cal in Berkeley back in 2019.
>> Washington State has won seven of the last eight matches in Pullman and is 2017 all-time on its home court against Cal.

WASHINGTON STATE IN THE POLLS
>> WSU reached its highest all-time ranking this week at No. 4 in the AVCA's Top-25, surpassing its previous best at No. 5 in Oct. of 1995.
>> This week marks the 34^th poll in which the Cougars have cracked the nation's top-10.
>> Washington State has appeared in 183 AVCA Top-25 polls­ — No. 20 all-time among Power Five schools — while finishing 13 seasons in the final top-25 poll — also ranked No. 20 all-time among Power Five schools.
>> Having appeared in the first-ever women's college volleyball media poll  at No. 6 last week, WSU climbed two spots to No. 4 in Monday's second Volleyballmag.com Super 16 Poll of the season.
>> The Cougs came in at No. 6 in the first NCAA Women's Volleyball Committee Poll of the season which was announced Monday, Sept. 25.
>> The Cougs came in at No. 5 in the first women's volleyball RPI release of the season, one of three Pac-12 teams to crack the nation's top five.

COUGAR VOLLEYBALL MATCH NOTES
>> WSU is off to its best start since a 13-0 start to the 2013 season.
>> At 13 wins in a row, the Cougars' are closing in on the longest win streak in program history which currently stands as a 16-match winning streak to start the 1997 season.
>> At No. 4 in this week's AVCA Top-25 Coaches' Poll, Washington State reached its highest national ranking in program history.  The No. 4 ranking is the highest ranking for the Cougars since reaching No. 6 during the peak their 1997 winning streak.
>> The Cougars are off to their best start in conference play since a 5-0 start to the 2016 season that saw them post wins over No. 4 Washington, No. 9 UCLA, No. 9 Stanford, California, and Oregon State, respectively.
>> Julia Norville had a careeer-high 18 digs in Sunday's four-set win at Oregon.  She begins the week just 58 digs shy of joining the 1,000 career digs club.
>> Magda Jehlářová became the Pac-12 all-time career leader after winning the 10th weekly conference award of her career, having been named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week as announced by the league office Monday.
>> Jehlářová is the Pac-12's active leader in career blocks (665) averaged 3.14 kills/set while hitting .395 in the Cougars' 2-0 road trip to Oregon State and Oregon this past weekend to go along with 1.57 blocks/set.
>> Iman Isanovic, graduate transfer from Arizona State and a First Team All-Pac-12 selection in 2021, is the Pac-12 leader in career kills with 1,572, and leads the Cougs with 3.46 kills/set this season.
>> Isanovic is over her season average at 3.89 kills/set in the Cougs' four top-25 wins this season.
>> Isanovic is hitting at a career-best .321 clip as she joins forces this season with Pia Timmer who is second on the team with 3.13 kills/set. Timmer begins the weekend fifth all-time in career aces (127) and the team's leader on the season (15).
>> Setter Argentina Ung began the weekend 23^rd in the nation and third in the Pac-12 with 10.69 assists/set this season.

UNDER THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
>> WSU has gone 4-1 against the AVCA Top-25 this season and 3-1 against the top-10 as they look to build a postseason resume that stacks up with the top players in Division I volleyball.
>> WSU has won its last four top-25 matchups, each in four sets, holding teams to just .152 hitting in those matches.
>> Iman Isanovic is averaging a team-high 3.94 kills/set while hitting .283 in the Cougs' four top-25 wins this season.  Argentina Ung has averaged 10.88 assists/set and 2.00 digs/set while hitting .222.
>> Washington State has faced the 37th-toughest schedule in the nation to this point in the season based on the records of its 15 opponents thus far.
>> Now heading into the thick of conference play this month, the Cougs have the 14th-hardest remaining schedule in the nation.

SIX ROTATIONS: EIGHT NATIONS
>> The makeup of the 2023 WSU roster is split down the middle with eight international players and eight United States natives. Current and past Cougs have consistently seen the court at the highest levels of international volleyball.
>> Magda Jehlářová (Czech Republic), Iman Isanovic (Bosnia & Herzegovina), and Argentina Ung (Mexico) have each played major impact roles on their respective senior national teams in recent years.
>> Ung has spent the past three years as  a starting setter for Mexico and won the 2022 NORCECA Final Four Tournament MVP and Best Setter awards.
>> Jehlářová and Isanovic each competed in the opening round of the 2023 CEV Women's EuroVolley Championships (Aug. 15-23) earlier this season.
>> Former Washington State volleyball players Jocelyn Urias ('15, '17-'18) and Taylor Mims ('15, '18) have also represented Mexico and the United States, respectively, on their senior national teams earlier this year.
>> Mims recently helped Team USA win a Gold Medal in the 2023 Pan American Games earlier this summer.
>> Katy Ryan was a 2022 U.S. Collegiate National Team selection while head coach Jen Greeny has also spent time as a USA Volleyball Assistant Coach.
>> Freshman Emma Barbero was a starting libero for an Italian Junior National Team that won a Junior World Championship.  She also brings playing experience from the top Italian club volleyball league, Serie A, one of the top club volleyball leagues in the world.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
>> With so much returning and incoming talent on the 2023 roster, Washington State saw some of its highest preseason expectations in recent memory with a No. 2 selection in the 2023 Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
>> The No. 2 preseason Pac-12 ranking was its highest preseason selection since being picked to finish second in the 1996 preseason poll.
>> The Cougs began the season at No. 21 in the AVCA Preseason Top-25, the first time cracking the preseason top-25 since 2021 (No. 18) and the third time overall under coach Greeny.
>> The Cougs began the season at No. 21 in the AVCA Preseason Top-25, the first time cracking the preseason top-25 since 2021 (No. 18) and the third time overall under coach Greeny.
>> Magda Jehlářová, Iman Isanovic, and Pia Timmer were each named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team.

Up Next:
Washington State will turn around to prep for its fifth top-10 opponent already this season as it gets set to take on No. 3 Stanford on Sunday beginning at noon.  Sunday's match, the second of four-consecutive home matches for Washington State, will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Network.

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