One year ago, the Cal State LA women’s volleyball team stood at 18-10 coming into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II tournament. The team had just recently made the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championship game against Cal State San Bernardino and earned the fourth seed in the West Region of the NCAA tournament bracket. By the tournament’s end, the Golden Eagles had brought home the program’s first national championship to cap off the greatest season in team history.
Now, the Golden Eagles return to the tournament with another 18-10 record and a CCAA championship appearance — set to possibly become the third team in Division II women’s volleyball history to win back-to-back national championships.
Head coach Juan Figueroa said last year’s record concerned him heading into the tournament after going 20-5 in 2022, where they made the national semifinal. One national championship later, Figueroa enters this year’s tournament with confidence in his preparation.
“We watch a lot of film, we get ready on the mental side, and then we do the physical,” said Figueroa. “Wwe’ve been doing the same things that we did last year, and now we just got to get in there and execute.”
The team heads into the tournament with many of the same pieces from the last two seasons, including two-time All-American Emily Elliott. The leader of last year’s national championship team, the six-foot-two senior right outside hitter leads the nation in kills (598) and is second in kills-per-set (5.29). Earlier this year, she passed Kim Ford of Cal State San Bernardino to become the CCAA’s all-time kills leader.
Also returning from last year’s team is middle-blocker Haley Roundtree. She earned second-team all-CCAA honors after starting all 28 games and recording an 84% block rate this season. Roundtree said the team’s previous experience has helped prepare them in their quest to repeat as champions.
“We probably have more experience at this tournament than any other team that’s gonna be there,” she said. “We know how to prepare. We know what’s worked, what doesn’t. We have a lot more confidence.”
Roundtree also mentioned their CCAA tournament performance as a reason for this confidence. The Golden Eagles took down Cal State San Bernardino in five sets and top-seeded Cal Poly Pomona in four sets before falling to Stanislaus State in the championship game. Despite their second-place finish, Figueroa was pleased with how his team performed.
“I saw things that I hadn’t seen all year from our side,” he said. “We started playing the way that I think that we can actually play.”
Roundtree shared similar takeaways, saying the team could beat anyone when firing on all cylinders. However, she mentioned that they must stay focused and trust in each other and their training.
“When we start to get in our head and doubting ourselves, we can really take a downward spiral,” said Roundtree. “So it’s really important that we have each other’s backs.”
The Golden Eagles come into the tournament as the seventh seed in the West Region, one of four teams representing the CCAA. The Golden Eagles have played all but one opponent in the region during the regular season. That includes first-round opponent San Francisco State, who they will’ll face in Pomona on Thursday. The Gators led the CCAA in kills and hitting percentage and beat the Golden Eagles in four sets in their only meeting. Figueroa praised his first-round opponent for their chemistry and competitiveness.
“They’re a veteran team. They got a bunch of seniors in the starting lineup and their kids have been in this conference for many years,” he said. “They’re hungry and they want to win.”
In their last matchup in San Francisco, the Gators hit 16 aces against the Golden Eagles, the most LA has given up this season. Figueroa stressed the need for his team to improve their passing and serving Thursday night.
“When they played us last time, they were serving the ball really tough, making it hard on us to pass the ball,” said Figueroa. “We got to serve the ball tough and we got to pass the ball well.”
The opportunity to make history has not been lost on Figueroa. Should the Golden Eagles repeat, they’ll be the first team since Concordia-St. Paul in 2015-2016 to win consecutive national championships. He remarked how special it was that his team was given the chance to do what only two teams have done before.
“This group have just been making history every year,” said Figueroa. “It’s us against the world, but we got to get out there. We got to play, and we got to take one match at a time and then once we get there, hopefully we get the chance to play for the championship and make some history again.”
