Tara Desa 5'5" Libero from (Mililani, Hawai'i (Kamehameha HS/Spike and Serve)
Lydia Grote 6'2" Middle Blocker from Burbank (Burroughs HS/San Gabriel Elite)
Alexia Gruszczynski 5'8" LIbero/OH from San Clemente (San Clemente HS/A4 Volleyball Club)

Announcement here: Bears WVB Adds Three

Grote looked very promising on video. Doesn't look like she's quite yet grown into her body (I certainly hadn't in HS) and with college level strength training...could be a stellar player.

Desa appears to be a stellar candidate to replace the now-graduated Emma Smith at libero, based on what I read I about her. She will be facing tough competition for the starting job, which I can imagine since Bellizzi showed promise at the position last season and Houghton showed that she has potential to be a good backup. With Bellizzi being a junior and Houghton an academic senior, Desa may have a hard time winning the starting job next season, but she has the potential to eventually become a full time starter. At the same time, it's hard to know how Crosson will handle the libero vacancy next season. Smith was a big loss for Cal defensively, and while Desa may not be like how Smith was, I watched her on video and she seems like a very skilled player who could easily make the defense better and give the team a better chance of making NCAA's. If she is named the starter...it may very well help the team improve defensively, but we'll have to see

Who should've been recruited instead? If you count the November signees in Pantovic, Taumoepeau, and Jensen, they have a decent recruiting class

calbears4ever said:

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Who should've been recruited instead? If you count the November signees in Pantovic, Taumoepeau, and Jensen, they have a decent recruiting class

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I was yawning at the above 3 only.

I completely agree. Having backups is crucial to success in the competitive pac-12, and it can be the difference between making the tourney or missing it. I was there when Mirkovic went down against UCLA last season. It only got ugly because there were no solid backups to replace her, and that was part of the reason why cal missed the tourney last season despite 20 wins. Of course they need to focus on trying to keep Mirkovic and the rest of their starters healthy, but they also need to keep their backups ready to go in case something unforeseen occurs. Pantovic and Milli can easily serve as backup 6-rotation OHs, and they have a lot of attacking role options at the OH position in Smoot and Taumoepeau, and Grote backing up Lilomaiava. With Potter setting, Mirkovic and Meyer at OH, Forte and Anderson splitting the middle, and Lilomaiava at oppo, the offense will be unstoppable. With the legendary offensive players Cal has, coupled with outstanding defense in Desa, Bellizzi, and their other defensive specialists, they will be a force to be reckoned with in the pac-12, especially with Stanford losing Plummer and co this past season. Hopefully they can take the conference title next season and get the AQ, but we'll just have to wait and see

Yawning at an incoming recruit is both rude and ignorant. Many high school athletes make tremendous athletic progress when in college. You cannot possibly know how these will progress and fit in the program. You should be shamed off this site.

You can't make predictions on a recruit based on their HS success or lack there of, it's all about how they contribute and fit in with the team and the coaches. Ranking recruits by the number of stars next to their name is overrated because there are 4 and 5-stars who perform badly in college and 1 and 2-stars who end up doing really well. Coach Crosson saw potential in these recruits and that is why he went after them. If he didn't think they'd thrive at Cal, he would have let them go

I wasn't the one who yawned, it was @BearinOC and I flagged 'em

calbears4ever said:

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I wasn't the one who yawned, it was @BearinOC and I flagged 'em

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You snitch, snitches get stitches then gets thrown to ditches. lol