Coming off a run to the 2022 NCAA Division II Championship semifinals, Cal State LA has been selected as the favorites in the CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Golden Eagles received nine first-place votes and 141 points to earn the nod as the 2023 preseason favorites. Cal Poly Pomona collected two first-place votes to place second in the poll with 130 points. Cal State San Bernardino finished third with the last first-place vote and 121 points. Sonoma State (104 points), Cal State East Bay (93), and San Francisco State (86) completed the top half of the poll and are the early picks to make the
2023 CCAA Volleyball Tournament, Nov. 16-18 in Los Angeles.
| 2023 Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll |
| Cal State LA (9) |
141 |
| Cal Poly Pomona (2) |
130 |
| Cal State San Bernardino (1) |
121 |
| Sonoma State |
104 |
| Cal State East Bay |
93 |
| San Francisco State |
86 |
| Stanislaus State |
65 |
| Cal State Monterey Bay |
58 |
| Cal State San Marcos |
46 |
| Cal Poly Humboldt |
42 |
| Cal State Dominguez Hills |
33 |
| Chico State |
17 |
Cal State LA will return all six starters and libero Jameson Sanders to a team that went 25-7 and 16-2 in conference play. CSLA reached the NCAA West Regional as the No. 3 seed, winning four consecutive NCAA playoff matches, including a streak of 11 straight set victories, to reach the program's third national semifinal. AVCA Freshman of the Year Iane Henke (3.00 kills/set) and first team All-CCAA selection Emily Elliott (3.76) were top 7 in the CCAA in kills. Ashley Dittmann (2.54) and Ayjah Landers (2.20) gave setters Eliza Cannon (5.64 assists/set) and Jaden Grova (4.35 assists) two more options, as each averaged over 2.0 kills on the outside. Cannon was a second team All-CCAA selection last year, along with Dittmann. Middle blockers Haley Roundtree (0.98 blocks/set) and Shelby Grubbs (0.94) were each top 10 in blocks last season.
Cal Poly Pomona is also coming off one of its best seasons in program history. The Broncos were 24-6 with a 14-4 record in the CCAA. They won the CCAA Tournament with three consecutive victories and reached the NCAA Regional semifinals. CPP returns six starters, including Newcomer of the Year Caitie Mueller and CCAA Player of the Year Daisy Duke. The Broncos were ranked throughout the season in the AVCA's national poll after winning 14 straight matches early, including their first nine CCAA contests. Kaitlan Tucker ranked 10th in NCAA Division II with 1.23 blocks per set and fifth in the CCAA with a .319 hitting percentage.
Cal State San Bernardino made its 22nd consecutive NCAA Regional appearance in 2022. The Yotes went 20-7 and tied for second in the CCAA standings at 14-4. CSUSB will rely on one of the best setters in the West as two-time All-CCAA selection Marlee Nunley returns to lead the offense. She placed third in the CCAA in assists (8.28), and the Yotes were second with a .246 hitting percentage. Nunley will be surrounded by most of her top-scoring options from last season, with four of the Yotes' top 5 kill leaders returning. Joining Nunley as returning All-CCAA selections include Ashley Robinson (3.00 kills) and Jenna Patton (1.96 kills).
Sonoma State played as well as any team in the second half of 2022, going 11-2 to close out the regular season before reaching the CCAA Tournament Championship match and earning a trip to the West Regional. The Seawolves will return a pair of 2022 All-CCAA first team selections, Jen Trephan and Kiana Richardson, along with three more starters. Last season, Sonoma ranked 21st in Div. II with 2.19 aces per set, was second in the CCAA in opponent hitting percentage (.168).
Under head coach Kimberly Lambert,
Cal State East Bay earned the No. 4 seed in the 2022 CCAA Tournament with a 13-5 record (20-7). It was the best conference finish for the Pioneers since the tournament began in 2015 and their first 20-win season since 2010. CSUEB will return five starters from that team, including All-CCAA selections Lexi Pagani, Mia Jordan, and Kara Green.
San Francisco State will bring back 2022 CCAA Freshman of the Year Tamiya Wilson and CCAA Setter of the Year Kimberly DeBoer, along with their whole starting lineup and libero. The team just missed qualifying for the CCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year, falling short in the season's final match. Wilson led the CCAA and placed 20th in NCAA Div. II with 4.03 kills per set. The Temecula native paced the conference with 10.6 attacks per set, 1.5 more than anyone else in the league. DeBoer was also ranked nationally, placing 15th with 10.93 assists per set.
Stanislaus State and Cal State Monterey Bay occupy the seventh and eighth spots in the polls.
Stan State edged out San Francisco State on a tiebreaker to earn the last spot in the 2022 CCAA Tournament. In coach Lauren Flowers' first season, the Warriors went 19-10 and 10-8 in the conference. The 19 wins matched a program record, and she helped lead Gabby Rawson to CCAA Libero of the Year honors. She led the conference in digs (4.93) by nearly .5 per game, and her efforts helped the Warriors place second in the league.
Cal State Monterey Bay was picked eighth in the preseason poll with 58 points and is expected to have four starters back in 2023. Senior Kaylie Honberger returns as the leading scorer with 2.8 points per game (2.4 kills). The Otters were among the best defensive teams in the conference, with 15.57 digs per set and 190.5 total blocks.
Ninth-place in the poll went to
Cal State San Marcos with 46 points.
Cal Poly Humboldt (42),
Cal State Dominguez Hills (33), and
Chico State (17) rounded out the 2023 CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll.
Follow CCAA volleyball matches throughout the season on the CCAA Network at
CCAAnetwork.com. All CCAA volleyball home matches and road games against conference opponents are scheduled to be streamed on the Network all season long. Follow the action for just $9.95 per month.
Sign up today to support your favorite team and student-athletes.
The 2023 season will begin on Thursday, Aug. 31. Ten CCAA teams will take the court on opening day, with all 12 playing over the opening weekend. The teams will try to earn one of the six bids to the CCAA volleyball tournament on Nov. 16-18 at Cal State LA.
For more information, click here.
| CCAA Preseason Watchlist (returning first or second team All-CCAA selections) |
| Eliza Cannon |
S |
Cal State LA |
| Kimberly DeBoer |
S |
San Francisco State |
| Daisy Duke |
OPP |
Cal Poly Pomona |
| Emily Elliott |
OPP |
Cal State LA |
| Kara Green |
OPP |
Cal State East Bay |
| Iane Henke |
OH |
Cal State LA |
| Mia Jordan |
MB |
Cal State East Bay |
| Caitie Mueller |
S |
Cal Poly Pomona |
| Madison Novak |
OH |
Cal Poly Pomona |
| Marlee Nunley |
S |
Cal State San Bernardino |
| Lexi Pagani |
OPP |
Cal State East Bay |
| Jenna Patton |
MB |
Cal State San Bernardino |
| Gabby Rawson |
L |
Stanislaus State |
| Kiana Richardson |
OH |
Sonoma State |
| Ashley Robinson |
OH |
Cal State San Bernardino |
| Jen Trephan |
S |
Sonoma State |
| Kaitlan Tucker |
MB |
Cal Poly Pomona |
| Tamiya Wilson |
OPP |
San Francisco State |