This holiday season, the Stanislaus State volleyball team will be packing their bags back for Pomona.

For the first time in school history, the Warriors have punched their tickets to the NCAA DII West Region Volleyball Championship tournament. The postseason berth came after the team clinched their first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championship by beating Cal State Los Angeles 3-1 (22-25, 26-26, 25-23, 25-17) in the league finals last Saturday at Pomona’s Kellogg Arena.

The Warriors were further acknowledged for their postseason efforts just two days later, as the 2024 American Volleyball Coaches Association/Taraflex Division II Women's Volleyball Poll revealed that Stan State has been ranked in the top 25 for the first time in program history, landing in 24th.

Stan State President Britt Rios-Ellis was one of the first to welcome the team back to campus last weekend and offered the following statement: "Congratulations to our ‘Stantastic’ women's volleyball team on their historic first CCAA Championship title. This triumph is a shining example of what we can accomplish together and will inspire future Warrior generations.”

"I am so proud of the work our team has done to be recognized as one of the top eight teams in this extremely competitive region," added head coach Lauren Flowers. "We really are playing our best volleyball at the right time and it's a thrill as a coach to see their hard work pay off. I am so happy that we are not done yet!"

The NCAA tournament kicks off Thursday, again from the campus of Cal Poly Pomona, with the No. 6 Warriors taking on third-seeded Chaminade at 4:30 p.m. The winner of that match advances to play Friday at 7 p.m. against the winner of Thursday’s San Francisco State and Cal State LA clash. The regional final will get underway Saturday at 5 p.m.

Stan State finished the regular season with a 19-7 overall record and 12-6 in the CCAA to capture the third seed in the CCAA. The Warriors swept their opponents in 11 out of their 19 wins and only went to five sets on four occasions, three of which Stan State emerged victorious. The team finished the season as the winningest in program history, now adding the most postseason wins to their resume as well.

Prior to this season, the program made it to the semifinals once in their five previous appearances, in 2016, falling short to Chico State. Their last appearance was in 2022, also under Flowers.

One of the leaders of this year’s “dream team” has been senior hitter Ellison Weaver. Following the CCAA Tournament, the Utah native was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Player of the Week. It marked the first time that Weaver, or any Stan State player for that matter, has received the honors. Weaver hit .250 and above in every match in the tournament, racking up 44 kills, 38 digs, and five blocks over the three days, while also recording two double-doubles. The double-doubles came in the semifinal (14 kills, 14 digs) and the final (18 kills, 16 digs). She had 38 total digs, added five blocks, and had four ace serves in the tournament as well, while also moving up the school’s record books, now sixth all-time in kills with 825 in her career. She is second on the team in kills this season with 220.

First on the team in kills is a junior hitter from Madera, Isabella Saucedo, who has 241. She was named to the All-Tournament squad alongside four teammates, senior blocker Alex Byrd, senior setter Haley Burdo, senior libero Gabby Rawson, and of course, Weaver, who took home Most Valuable Player honors.

Defensively, Stan State as a team ranks in the top 25 nationally in two stats: team total blocks and blocks per set. They are 14th in the nation in blocks per set at 2.55 and 17th in team total blocks with 268. The Warriors have been in the top twenty-five all season in blocks per set, including starting out as second in the nation after their first four games. Byrd has climbed to 22nd in the nation in blocks per set with 1.27.

During Saturday’s post-match media availability, Flowers revealed that Rawson promised to bring home the tournament title. The libero spoke about her guarantee, saying “(Senior hitter) Mariah (Iosua) and I, we’re roommates, and we had the idea that, ‘We’re going to be CCAA champions. We have a shot,’” she said. “And I don’t think we doubted it one bit along the way. There were ups and downs for sure, but we stuck by each other and went for it.”

“We're just trying to play our best volleyball and get a little bit better every time we get on the court, so that's the goal,” Flowers said. “(Thursday against Chaminade) is just another match for us, another opportunity. I’m super grateful to not be done with this team, I'm not ready to be done with this team and I know they're not ready to end their careers yet, so we're just going to keep pursuing and keep working together.”

All tournament games will be streamed live, for free, for those with an account at www.FloCollege.com/.