Cal State San Bernardino Predicted to Continue Conference Title Run
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CALIFORNIA – For the 13th straight year, CCAA and national powerhouse Cal State San Bernardino has been picked to again hoist the CCAA trophy in 2019.
After closing the 2018 campaign ranked No. 4 in the nation, the Coyotes received 12 nods by the league’s head coaches to earn the conference title, as well as a dozen votes to sit atop the South division totaling 67 points. Should the coaches’ prognostications ring true, the squad would earn a fourth-straight CCAA title and reign supreme in 12 of the last 14 seasons.
Long-time Cal State San Bernardino head coach Kim Cherniss has several assets at her disposal as the 2018 regional finalist Coyotes look to continue their league supremacy. Leading the charge will be returning CCAA Player of the Year and All-American outside hitter Alexis Cardoza. She is joined by fellow All-CCAA first-teamer Sascha Dominique and libero Leilia To’omalatai. Gone, however, are two more first-team standouts in 2018 CCAA Setter of the Year Jayann DeHoog and Hailey Jackson.
Second place in the South belongs to Cal State LA, set to return four all-conference players including 2017 CCAA Freshman of the Year and 2018 all-conference first team selection Karla Santos, last year’s Newcomer of the Year Mickayla Sherman, and libero Jeshmarie Suarez. However, the Golden Eagles will too be without an experienced setter, after the graduation of Kelsey Molnar.
San Francisco State has the slight edge in a tight race in the North that sees five of the seven squads garner at least one first-place vote. The Gators earned six of those and 65 points altogether following a successful 2018 which saw the team reach the postseason for the first time since 2015 and open the year with their best start since 2012. Junior outside hitter and All-CCAA second-teamer Jessica Haynie led the team’s offense and the returning trio of Haynie, outside hitter Drew Morris and middle blocker Bailey Johnson accounted for 898 points last season, 60 percent of San Francisco State’s tally on the year.
The Gators are followed by Stanislaus State in the North with three first-place votes and 62 points in total. The Warriors return All-West Region performer and All-CCAA first-teamer Sierra Adams. The senior was one of two women to average more than four kills per set in the conference, joining Coyote All-American Cardoza with the statistical distinction.
Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay both also have first-place votes in the North, and are predicted in the CCAA Tournament field alongside Cal State San Marcos and UC San Diego from the South, as the top four sides from each division once again advance into the CCAA postseason. Sonoma State has the final first-place nod in the North, with 2018 CCAA Tournament finalist Cal Poly Pomona also presumed to be a factor in the South race.
Cal State San Bernardino is ranked No. 2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll, with Cal State LA (No. 19) and Cal Poly Pomona (T-20) also appearing, and Cal State San Marcos receiving votes just outside the top 25.
All 13 teams open the new season either on Sept. 5 or Sept. 6, with every one of them involved in the annual
West Region Volleyball Showcase the following week, Sept. 12-14, as the CCAA serves as the host conference this year. The league members will scatter across six sites and face off against foes from the Pacific West Conference and Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The CCAA slate begins the next week on Wednesday night, Sept. 18, with Chico State at Stanislaus State and Cal State Monterey Bay visiting Humboldt State.
New this season, volleyball will crown a regular-season champion as well as a tournament victor, with the winner of the 2019 CCAA Volleyball Tournament earning the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Championship field. The tournament is set to be contested on the home court of the Coyotes, Nov. 21-23 at Coussoulis Arena.
As noted, the top four teams in each division will earn a spot in the bracket, with seeding determined by CCAA winning percentage rather than by regional demarcations, new for 2019.
2019 CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
Overall 2019 champion: Cal State San Bernardino (12 votes)
| NORTH |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (Divisional champion votes) |
| 1. |
San Francisco State |
65 (6) |
| 2. |
Stanislaus State |
62 (3) |
| 3. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
46 (1) |
| 4. |
Cal State East Bay |
44 (2) |
| T5. |
Chico State |
43 |
| T5. |
Sonoma State |
43 (1) |
| 7. |
Humboldt State |
12 |
| SOUTH |
| 1. |
Cal State San Bernardino |
67 (12) |
| 2. |
Cal State LA |
55 (1) |
| T3. |
Cal State San Marcos |
35 |
| T3. |
UC San Diego |
35 |
| 5. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
33 |
| 6. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
12 |