WALNUT CREEK, Calif- Following two consecutive 23-win seasons, including two appearances in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship Tournament, the Sonoma State women's volleyball team has been picked to finish fourth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) in 2010 after a preseason vote of the head coaches in the 12-team conference.

The Seawolves, led by ninth-year head coach Bear Grassl, finished fourth in the CCAA standings a year ago and was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament after a heartbreaking five-set loss to Cal State L.A. It was the second straight 23-win season for Sonoma State, who finished 23-8 after starting the season with 11 consecutive victories. In 2008, SSU finished tied for second in the conference with a 23-7 record before falling in the opening round of the NCAA tournament to Chico State in three sets.

Four-time defending conference champion and NCAA Division II semi-finalist Cal State San Bernardino received the maximum votes possible and was tabbed as the conference coaches' pick to capture the CCAA title again this season. The Coyotes received 121 points and 11 first-place votes ahead of UC San Diego, who was picked to finish second, collecting 103 points and one first place vote. Cal State L.A. was third with 98 points, Sonoma State grabbed 97 points and Chico State rounded out the top five with 82 points.

Cal Poly Pomona (63) was picked sixth and followed by San Francisco State (61), Cal State East Bay (55) and Cal State Monterey Bay (36). Humboldt State and Cal State Dominguez Hills tied for 10th with 23 points and Cal State Stanislaus was 12th after collecting 22 points.

Entering his ninth season at the helm for Sonoma State, Grassl will return three starters, two of which are All-America selections from last season. Juniors Keala Peterson and Taylor Krenwinkel had a stellar season for the Seawolves in 2009, both breaking sophomore records at their respective positions.

Peterson, an outside hitter from Sebastopol who transferred from Division I UC Davis before the start of the season, broke the class record for most kills by a sophomore with 401, topping former SSU student-athlete Christine Shiba (346 in 2001). She led the team with 13 double-doubles and broke another school record for most kills in a three-set match with 25, set on Oct. 9, 2009 against Cal State East Bay. Peterson had a 4.18 kills per set mark last season as well, the 11th best in the nation.

Krenwinkel, a libero from San Diego, broke the sophomore record for most digs in a season with 539, besting the old mark of 479 set by former Seawolf Taylor Manton in 2005. She also eclipsed the 1,000 dig mark in her career with 1,062 which is fourth on the all-time list. Krenwinkel currently has a streak of 39 consecutive matches with 10 or more digs, dating back to the 2008 season. With 4.81 digs per set in 2009, she led the conference all season long in that category.

Completing one of the nation's best one-two punches, sophomore Ally Sather will also return to the Sonoma State lineup in 2010. Sather shattered the previous freshman kill record last season with a team-best 442, topping the previous mark of 304 set by former Sonoma State student-athlete Marianne Fox in 2007. Peterson and Sather combined for 843 kills -- 56 percent of the team's production in that department.

Perhaps the biggest loss in the lineup will be at the setting position in Lindsay Brown. Brown is at the top of several all-time statistical categories including assists (3,619) and service aces (147). She eclipsed the 1,000 assist mark in a season twice in her career, including last season with 1,108 and served up a team-high 45 aces.

The 2010 schedule will kickoff on Sept. 3 when Sonoma State hosts the annual Seawolf Spike, a two-day tournament featuring eight schools, four of which compete in the CCAA. The Seawolves will take on Dominican in their first match of the season at 1:30 p.m. at The Wolves' Den. Conference play will begin on Sept. 10 when the Seawolves visit Cal State East Bay in Hayward at 7 p.m.