Cal State volleyball team favored to repeat

Two-time defending conference champion Cal State San Bernardino enters the 2008 season as the favorite to win the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) women's volleyball championship, according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.  

The Coyotes posted a 17-1 CCAA record and advanced to the NCAA Pacific Regional final before finishing the 2007 campaign with a 27-3 overall mark. Cal State San Bernardino received eight of the 11 first-place votes and totaled 96 points.

 

UC San Diego, which tied for second in the CCAA a year ago with a 13-5 conference mark, was picked to finish second after totaling 83 points and one first-place vote. Cal State L.A. garnered 77 points to finish third, while Chico State, which received two-first place votes, was fourth with 76 points. Cal Poly Pomona rounded out the top five after totaling 74 points.

 

Sonoma State (57) was sixth in the voting and was followed by Cal State Monterey Bay (42), Humboldt State (40), Cal State Stanislaus (23), Cal State Dominguez Hills (19) and San Francisco State (18).

 

The 2008 season will mark the first for San Francisco State, which is beginning its inaugural year sponsoring women's volleyball.

 

The 2008 campaign is slated to begin the weekend of August 28 with teams competing in tournaments. CCAA play is scheduled to begin Sept. 12-13.

  2008 CCAA Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll  

Rank -- Team (First place votes) -- Points   1. Cal State San Bernardino (8) - 96 2. UC San Diego (1) - 83 3. Cal State L.A. - 77 4. Chico State (2) - 76 5. Cal Poly Pomona - 74 6. Sonoma State - 57 7. Cal State Monterey Bay - 42 8. Humboldt State - 40 9. Cal State Stanislaus - 23 10. Cal State Dominguez Hills - 19 11. San Francisco State - 18