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LA JOLLA, Calif. - With four starters returning from last season's NCAA Tournament squad, the UC San Diego women's volleyball team was picked to finish second in the league in the 2011 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) preseason coaches poll released Tuesday.

Five-time defending conference champion and NCAA Division II Pacific Region champion Cal State San Bernardino received the maximum number of votes possible and was the conference coaches' unanimous pick to capture the 2011 CCAA title.

The Coyotes totaled 121 points and 11 first-place votes in the poll. UCSD collected 100 points and one first-place vote. Sonoma State was third with 95 points, Cal State L.A. was fourth after garnering 89 points and Cal State East Bay rounded out the top five with 84 points.

Chico State (68) was picked sixth and was followed by Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State, which tied for seventh with 54 points each. Cal Poly Pomona (45) was ninth, Cal State Stanislaus (34) 10th, Humboldt State (17) 11th and Cal State Dominguez Hills (15) rounded out the poll.

Also on Tuesday, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released its national preseason poll. Cal State San Bernardino was third, while UCSD came in at 24th. 

UC San Diego compiled a 19-9 overall record last season and tied for second in the CCAA with Cal State East Bay with a 15-7 mark. The Tritons earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season, sweeping Sonoma State in the West Region quarterfinals before bowing out to Cal State San Bernardino in the semis.

UCSD second-year head coach Ricci Luyties returns AVCA and Daktronics All-American outside hitter/setter Roxanne Brunsting, as well as outside Katie Condon and middle blocker Julia Freidenberg, who each earned AVCA and Daktronics All-West Region accolades in 2010. Hillary Williamson is back on the outside while libero Janessa Werhane, the only Triton to play in all 109 sets last year, returns as well. Four of the five are entering their senior seasons, while Freidenberg will be a junior.

The Tritons were ranked as high as No. 8 by the AVCA in 2010. 

Cal State San Bernardino is coming off a 28-2 overall record, including a 21-1 mark, in CCAA play. The Coyotes defeated Seattle Pacific in the Pacific Region final before seeing their season come to an end at the hands of Concordia-St. Paul in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals. The Coyotes welcome back 2010 AVCA National Player of the Year Samantha Middleborn and All-American setter Camille Smith.

UC San Diego unofficially opens its 2011 campaign with a pair of exhibition matches - Aug. 25 at Point Loma Nazarene (5 p.m.) and Aug. 29 in RIMAC Arena against Cal Baptist (4 p.m.). The regular season gets underway Sept. 1-3 as the Tritons compete at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Invitational in Honolulu.

- ucsdtritons.com -