LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team, which has recorded three straight 20-win seasons and is coming off its best NCAA Tournament run since 2009, will certainly be tested early in the 2022 season in a pair of high-quality tournaments.

The Golden Eagles, who have been picked to finish second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's preseason Top-25 poll, open their season on Thursday at 5 p.m. against No. 20 Ferris State on the first day of the Western Washington Invitational. All four of Cal State LA's opponents at the Western Washington tournament are ranked in the AVCA top-25 or receiving votes. The Golden Eagles will face Regis University and Simon Fraser, who are both receiving votes in the national poll, in their next two matches before finishing up against tournament host and No. 3 Western Washington in a rematch of 2021 NCAA West Region championship match opponents.

There will be more of the same in the second week of the season when Cal State LA hosts its own invitational and will face No. 25 Chaminade, Central Washington and Biola, who are both receiving national preseason votes, and Seattle Pacific, which is a perennial contender in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, in matches in University Gym beginning on Sept. 1.

Cal State LA is coming off a strong 2021 season after going 20-10 overall and reaching the championship match of the NCAA West Regional for the first time since 2009. Along the way, the Golden Eagles upended defending national champion Cal State San Bernardino in the semifinals in a stunning three-set win in San Bernardino before falling short to Western Washington in the title match to end the season.

The tremendous ending also marked the end of a remarkable four-year career by Karla Santos, who earned AVCA All-America recognition for a third time after leading the Golden Eagles in kills for a fourth straight season. Four other seniors who were big contributors - Alejandra Negron, Jeshmarie Suarez, Daisy Crenshaw and Victoria Duarte - also completed their playing careers after four outstanding seasons with the program.

The task at hand for the Golden Eagles will be to replace that production and experience and once again challenge for a conference title and NCAA tournament bid. The Golden Eagles have reached the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 2010. Cal State LA reached the NCAA Tournament in every season from 2004-10 and then started a new run in 2019.

Cal State LA has a young squad in 2022 with nine freshman joining the program. Iane Henke, who had a sensational debut for the Golden Eagles last spring in beach volleyball, leads that group along with fellow freshmen Zuhal Cetin, an outside hitter from Istanbul, Turkey, Arielle Chandler, a freshman setter from Manteca High School and libero Jameson Sanders from Heritage High School.

The Golden Eagles have 11 returners, including two who were named to the CCAA Preseason Watchlist. Emily Elliott, the 2021 CCAA Freshman of the Year who also earned second-team All-CCAA honors, was second on the team and among the conference leaders with 395 kills and 435.5 points. She earned NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team recognition after a strong showing in the postseason.

Junior Eliza Cannon, who also earned second-team All-CCAA honors for the Golden Eagles, returns as one of the top setters in the conference. She was also on the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament team. Cannon led the team with 794 assists and was second in service aces, third in digs and fourth in kills in 2021.

The Golden Eagles are also expecting a big step forward this season from sophomore Ayjah Landers, who appeared in 25 matches in 2021. In addition to Landers, Malia Apodaca, Allison Linder, Ashley Dittmann, Haley Roundtree, Shelby Grubbs, Talia Niu and Jaden Grova all played well in 2021 and bring valuable experience to the team in 2022.

After playing in the two tournaments to open the season, Cal State LA will begin CCAA play at home on Friday, Sept. 9, against Stanislaus State.