Tournament Schedule
CSULA Season Prospectus
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.’s volleyball team will open its 2010 season with a three-day tournament in the Eagles Nest beginning on Thursday.
The Golden Eagles, ranked 14th in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, will face Northwood (MI) in their first match of the season at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The tournament will get underway on Thursday at 1 p.m. with a match between Academy of Art and Northwood.
Cal State L.A. will play in two matches on Friday, at 1 p.m. against Simon Fraser and at 7 p.m. against Academy of Art. The Golden Eagles will wrap up the tournament with a match against Dixie State on Saturday at 7 p.m. Two other matches will be held on Saturday – Dixie State vs. Simon Fraser at 1 p.m. and Academy of Art vs. Simon Fraser at 5 p.m.
The tournament, which is being co-hosted by Cal Poly Pomona, should feature some outstanding Division II volleyball. Cal State L.A. has been picked to finish third in the rugged California Collegiate Athletic Association and is one of four conference schools to be ranked in the national top-25.
Dixie State has been named the favorite of the Pacific-West Conference, while Academy of Art, a rapidly-improving third-year program that made its debut in this tournament two years ago, has been picked sixth in extremely close voting. Simon Fraser is a new member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, while Northwood is a competitive member of the always-tough Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Cal State L.A. enters the 2010 season with optimism. The Golden Eagles finished the 2009 season ranked 15th in the nation after recording a 23-9 record that included playoff wins over Sonoma State and UC San Diego. Cal State L.A. advanced to the West Region championship match for the first time since 2005 and reached the NCAA playoffs for a sixth straight season.
Second-year head coach
Randi Smart welcomes back nine players, including five starters, from last year’s team. Three of those players – junior middle blocker
Mary Laupepa, senior outside hitter
Zuzana Cizova and sophomore middle blocker
Marquis Mora – earned All-CCAA honors last year. Laupepa earned first-team All-Conference recognition, while Cizova and Mora earned second-team honors. Cizova was also named the CCAA Newcomer of the Year.
Stefanie Gay, who set a new program record for digs last season, is also back for her senior season, while senior
Kassie Faulkner and junior
Chelsea Hamilton also return after seeing significant playing time last season. Cal State L.A. has high hopes for junior outside hitter
Natalia Gonzalez, who missed last season because of injury. Junior middle blocker
Sade Greene joins the active roster after a red-shirt season last year, while senior setter
Amrita Tuladhar and sophomore defensive specialist
Kaitlynd Carroll are back for their second seasons with the program.
Cal State L.A. will play its first eight matches of the season at home. After this week’s tournament, the Golden Eagles will begin conference play against Chico State on Friday, Sept. 10 in the Eagles Nest.