Cal State San Bernardino Selected to Repeat as CCAA Volleyball Champion
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SAN RAMON, Calif. – Entering the 2018 season ranked No. 11 nationally, Cal State San Bernardino has been selected to repeat as California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) champions, as voted on by the league’s 13 coaches.
The Coyotes are coming off yet another stellar season on the court which was capped by the NCAA West Region title and a run to the quarterfinal round. The NCAA postseason appearance was the 18th straight for Cal State San Bernardino, who took home back-to-back CCAA Championship titles, defeating Chico State in the tournament finals each of the past two seasons.
Along with being tabbed the preseason favorites, the Coyotes were the unanimous pick to win the South Division, followed by a neck-and-neck race for second between Cal State LA and UC San Diego, separated by one point in the final tally.
Cal State San Bernardino is looking to follow-up 2017’s 24-8 campaign highlighted by the play of CCAA Player of the Year and third-team All-American Lauren Nicholson with a third-straight automatic berth into the NCAA tournament field. Despite the loss of Nicholson due to graduation, the Coyotes return fellow All-CCAA first team middle blocker Hailey Jackson, and second-team selection Jayann DeHoog, both preparing to embark on their final collegiate season.
Under the direction of Juan Figueroa, Cal State LA’s roster is highlighted by reigning Newcomer of the Year Daisia Labrie and 2017’s Freshman of the Year Karla Santos, sure to continue their impactful play in their second year of CCAA action.
UC San Diego’s roster returns a pair of second-team all-conference middle blockers in Micah Hammond and Jessica Rieble, and the Tritons offense will be looking to fill the scoring void left with the departure of Amanda Colla. Eight first-year players grace head coach Ricci Luyties’ roster as UC San Diego heads to Hawaii to begin the season with a tournament on the Big Island. Both the Golden Eagles and Tritons are receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll.
Cal State San Marcos was selected to the fourth spot in the division, rounding out the predicted playoff teams from the South. Cal Poly Pomona is followed by State Dominguez Hills in the preseason prognostications.
The picture in the North is not nearly as clear, with a trio of teams separated by just five points at the top. Sonoma State holds the slim margin to repeat as North Division champions, racking up 68 points including five first-place votes. Cal State East Bay is right on the Seawolves’ heels, just two points back and also receiving five votes by the league’s coaches to take the No. 1 seed in the North.
With a 20-9 overall record and a mark of 14-4 in CCAA action, the Seawolves earned the No. 1 seed in the North in the 2017 brackets but bowed out in the quarterfinal round after being upended by Cal State LA. Sonoma State graduated two AVCA honorable mention athletes in Kelsey McIntire and CCAA Setter of the Year Courtney Seda, but will have 2017 CCAA Libero of the Year Megan Bohorquez back to anchor Bear Grassl’s defense.
Cal State East Bay is fresh off a banner season which saw the Pioneers stretch their CCAA semifinal match against the eventual champions to five sets. The Pioneers will have a new face on the sideline after long-time head coach Jim Spagle retired in June with a career record of 466-228, the most victories by any coach in any sport in the University's 57-year history of intercollegiate athletics. Taking the reins is Spagle’s right-hand woman Kimberly Lambert, who has been with the program for the last decade. Cal State East Bay is expected to be anchored by AVCA honorable mention All-American and All-CCAA first team middle blocker Deja Thompson.
CCAA Championship runner-up Chico State enters the fray in third in the North, receiving the remaining three votes to take the division’s top spot. Fourth in the North belongs to Cal State Monterey Bay with San Francisco State, Stanislaus State and Humboldt State closing out the voting.
Should the picks ring true, the 2018 CCAA Championship bracket will entertain the same eight squads as one year ago, with the North seeding mimicking the 2017 setup. This year’s conference championship will be contested at Stanislaus State’s Ed and Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena from Nov. 8-10.
First serve of the 2018 season comes this Thursday, Aug. 23 for seven CCAA squads, with the remaining five hitting the court on Friday. After two weekends of non-conference play, the league schedule gets its start on Tuesday, Sept. 4, as Sonoma State travels to Humboldt State to open the conference slate.
2018 CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
Overall 2018 champion: Cal State San Bernardino (10 votes)
| NORTH |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (Divisional champion votes) |
| 1. |
Sonoma State |
68 (5) |
| 2. |
Cal State East Bay |
66 (5) |
| 3. |
Chico State |
63 (3) |
| 4. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
45 |
| 5. |
San Francisco State |
36 |
| 6. |
Stanislaus State |
21 |
| 7. |
Humboldt State |
16 |
| SOUTH |
| 1. |
Cal State San Bernardino |
67 (12) |
| 2. |
Cal State LA |
47 |
| 3. |
UC San Diego |
46 (1) |
| 4. |
Cal State San Marcos |
42 |
| 5. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
18 |
| 6. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
17 |