University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
2026 Beach Volleyball Roster
Roster
Cassie Dodd
- Height:
- 6-2
- Class:
- Junior
- High School:
- Lake Ginninderra
- Hometown:
- Perth, Australia
- Previous School:
- Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
โข Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award (2025)
โข 3-time UCLA Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025)
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS (TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI)
โขย Southland Conference (SLC) Freshman of the Year (2024)
โขย Southland Conference Championship Pair of the Tournament (2024)
โขย All-Conference First Team (2024)
โขย AVCA/CBVB National Pair of the Week (April 22, 2024)
โข Islander Beach Volleyball Most Outstanding Offensive Playerย (2024)
โขย Two-Time SLC Pair of the Week (Feb. 27, 2024 and April 1, 2024)
FALL 2025
Junior Cassie Doddย and sophomore Alexa Fernandezย finished in second placeย at the 2025 AVCA Fall Pairs National Championship on Nov. 9. The duo opened with a win over Jacksonville's Hayden Garnett and Meredith Mrukowski in straight sets, 21-14, 21-13. The sixth-seeded duo advanced in the winner's bracketย after a 15-21, 21-15, 15-13 win over Boise State's 38th-seeded pair of Ava Anderson and Addison Wolden. They advanced to the quarterfinals with a 21-16, 21-13 win over 11th-seeded Lily Dee Davis and Madison White of Texas.ย They made it to the semifinals with a 24-22, 21-14 win over LMU's 14th-seeded duo of Jaeya Brach and Chloe Hooker. The Bruin duo then advanced to the finals with a three-set thriller (21-19, 18-21, 15-8) over the seventh-seeded pair from TCU,ย Natalie Glenn and Anhelina Khmil. They fell in the title match to fifth-seeded Malia Gementeraย and Taylor Hagenahย of Long Beach State, 21-16, 21-15.
2025
Ended the season with an overall record of 2-0 (30-6 career) โฆ partnered with Taylor Ford on court three to defeat Sarah Heath and Shea Hefner of Morehead State (March 11)ย โฆ also partnered with Maggie Boyd on court two to help the Bruins sweep No. 19 Washington (April 4) with a three-set win over Brooke Balue and Niki Eganย โฆ also partnered with Ford to post an exhibition win in straight sets over No. 9 California (March 8) over Mila Vugrincic and Maile Someraย ย โฆ the Bruins faced 32 ranked opponents in the 39 duals on the year with Dodd going 1-0 against ranked teamsย โฆ recorded a season-best winning streak of two duals (active streak) that began with Ford and continued with Boydย โฆ Doddย went 1-0 in two-set matches (with Ford) and 1-0 in three-set matches on the year (with Boyd).
Primarily competed on courts one and two and posted a 28-6 overall record (breaking the program record for individual wins in a single-season), including going 6-1 in the Southland Conference (SLC)ย โฆย helped the Islanders repeat as both SLC Regular Season and Tournament championsย โฆย clinched the deciding point at theย Southland Conference Tournament to three-peat the title and advance to the NCAA Tournamentย โฆย named SLC Tournament Pair of the Tournament following the victory and was nationally recognized as the AVCA/CBVB Pair of the Week ... defeated No. 16 FAUย 14-21, 21-19, 15-7ย at court two to help the Islanders secure its highest ranked victory in program historyย โฆย part of a historical team that was nationally ranked in the AVCA Top-20 for six weeks, the first team in conference history to be ranked.
HIGH SCHOOL/CLUB
Garnered a national ranking of 13th in Australiaย โฆย was a member of the Australian Volleyball Academy since 2021 and the Australian Senior Indoor Team since 2022ย โฆย saw two first-place finishes at the Australian U19 (2022) and U21 (2023) Junior Beach Volleyball Toursย โฆย also placed first at the West Australian Beach Volleyball Tour Elite Division in 2023ย โฆย finished fifth at the U19 Asian Beach Volleyball Championships in Roi Et, Thailand in 2022ย โฆย had another top-10 finish in 2022 after placing ninth at the U19 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Dikili, Turkeyย โฆย attended Penrhos College from 2016-20 and UCSSC Lake Ginninderra in 2021.
PERSONAL
Full name: Cassandra Jane Dodd, prefers Cassieย โฆย born in Subiaco, Australia โฆ her parents are Sarah and Peter Doddย โฆ has an older sister, Samanthaย โฆ greatest athletic thrill was, "Being the pair to clinch the Southland Conference title for Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi in the 2024 season. We lost the first set but then managed to come back and win in three sets."ย โฆ lists Australian former professional tennisย player and cricketer, Ashleigh Barty as the athlete she admires mostย โฆ lists reading and painting by numbers as things she likes to do in her spare time โฆ chose UCLA, "Because of the connection I made with the coaches initially whilst on call was a big factor, with all of us seemingly having the same drive and aspirations. They have developed a top level beach volleyball program which I believe will help me be able to achieve my goal of becoming an Olympian. UCLA also offers a highly competitive political science degree which is the career field I am interested in pursuing."ย โฆ majoring in political science.
