By Ashanti Velez, September 9, 2025
Cal Poly Pomona’s volleyball team returns in hopes of another successful campaign as they enter the season ranked No.1 in the CCAA preseason coaches’ poll and No. 11 in the AVCA Division II pre-season ranking.
Despite their success, the Broncos fell three sets to none in the CCAA West Region Finals ending their season at San Francisco State University. They finished the season with an overall record of 25-4 and a conference record of 17-1.
During the NCAA Division II West Regional, the Broncos played two winning games against Simon Fraser in the NCAA Regional Quarter Final 3-2 and Point Loma in the NCAA Regional Semifinal 3-1 before losing their final game 3-0 against San Franscisco State in the NCAA Regional Final.
“We’ve got a lot of returners on the squad this year from last year,” Dahl said. “So, they got a nice taste of success and they’re hungry. It was a team win last year you know, and so now the players that maybe didn’t get to play, they’re on the court now, and they know what it takes to get the job done.”
Looking at the new season, the Broncos have an ideal mixture of underclassmen and experienced upperclassmen. Such junior outside hitter, Charlotte Koerber, who earned All-CCAA Second Team honors and CCAA Newcomer of the year, last season As well as, senior libero/defensive specialist Kaden Young, who transferred from Sonoma State.
Traci Dahl has been a part of CPP’s volleyball program for nine years, and 2024 marked her seventh season as a head coach. The Broncos experienced their most successful season in program history with Dahl last year, finishing with a 25-4 record and winning their volleyball’s first outright CCAA regular season title.
The return of standout players, including returning All-American Sarah Ybarra and All-CCAA Honorable Mention recipient Alexia Athens, sparks excitement for the Broncos this season and aim strong for another successful run this season.
“I think this year will be extremely competitive because I’ve noticed from being here in the program and just from being in the conference that, our team has a really fast-paced system, and it’s really strong, and there’s a huge emphasis on discipline and consistency and just the energy in the gym day to day, from practice to lift,” Young said, “It’s just super competitive and it just pushes everyone to their best every single day.”
Young mentioned she wants to bring a positive and competitive mindset to the Broncos after transferring from Sonoma State University.
“I want to come in with a lot of energy and lightheartedness and just bring as much fun and competitiveness to the team as I can,” Young said. “Personally, I want to earn a starting spot on the court.”
“One match at a time, one practice at a time, we don’t look too far ahead,” Dahl said. “We don’t care about rankings. We know that if we work hard and get better every day, that the wins will come, and I think we have a very solid team this year.”
The Broncos kicked off the 2025 season at the Western Washington Invitational, playing three games from Sept. 4 to Sept. 6. CPP secured a 3-1 win over the tournament host, while they dropped the final two games, including a five-set thriller against Simon Frasier.
Up next for the Broncos is the Cal State invitational from Sept. 12 to Sept. 13, before the start of CCAA conference play verses Chico State on Sept.18.
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics
