LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's women's volleyball team had three players earn All-California Collegiate Athletic Association first-team honors, the conference announced on Tuesday.
Samarah DaCoud,
Ayjah Landers and
Zuhal Cetin all earned first-team honors, giving the Golden Eagles their most first-team awards since 2019 when Julia Azevedo, Daisy Crenshaw and Karla Santos all made the first team.
Cal State LA finished third in the conference with a 13-5 record and carry a 17-8 overall record into Thursday's opening-round match of the CCAA Tournament against Cal State East Bay at Stanislaus State.
DaCoud, who earned second-team honors last season as a freshman, is enjoying a sensational sophomore season with the Golden Eagles. She leads the conference in kills with 453 and is second in kills per set with 4.44. She also leads the conference in points with 513 and is second in the conference in points per set with 5.03.
She is also seventh in the conference in hitting percentage at .282. She also leads the team in service aces with 35 and is second in digs with 266.
DaCoud earned national AVCA Player of the Week honors on Oct. 7 after leading the Golden Eagles to a pair of wins at Cal State San Marcos and at home against Chico State with back-to-back 23-kill performances. She had 23 kills and 14 digs against the Cougars and 23 kills and 12 digs against the Wildcats.
Landers is second on the team in kills with 321 and points with 380.5 is an outstanding return to the court. She earned All-CCAA honorable mention in 2022 and then missed the 2023 and 2024 seasons. She is eighth in the conference in kills per set and seventh in points per set.
Cetin, meanwhile, earns All-CCAA honors for the second time. She received All-CCAA honorable mention last season as a junior. She is third on the team with 215 kills and third in points with 251. She also leads the team in digs with 267.
Sarah Ybarra of Cal Poly Pomona was named the Player of the Year after helping lead the Broncos to the regular-season title. Kale'a Kuamo'o of Cal State East Bay was the Libero of the Year, Kacie Caoili of Cal Poly Pomona was the Setter and Freshman of the Year, Elle Walker of Cal Poly Pomona was the Newcomer of the Year and Traci Dahl of Cal Poly Pomona was the Coach of the Year.
Cal State LA will be making its 10th straight appearance in the CCAA Tournament this week and seeking its first conference tournament title. The No. 3 seed Golden Eagles will open tournament play against No. 6 seed Cal State East Bay on Thursday at 3 p.m. at Stanislaus State.
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