POMONA -- Guided by American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Hall of Famer Rosie Wegrich, the Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team is set to debut its 2018 squad Friday and Saturday at the Concordia Invitational in Irvine.  Wegrich embarks on her 27th season as the head coach of the Broncos program (and 43rd as a intercollegiate head coach overall) and she will have the expertise of 12 returners and four talented freshmen to make a postseason run this year.

Among the returners are senior outside hitter Andrea Bosnic and senior middle blocker Kristen Hamlin, both of which have earned CCAA postseason awards in the past.  Bosnic was an All-CCAA Honorable Mention last season as the conference's seventh-leading hitter, sporting 2.98 kills per set, while Hamlin was the CCAA Freshman of the Year and an All-CCAA Second Team award recipient in 2015.  Bosnic and Hamlin lead the offense into 2018 with 598 and 502 career kills, respectively. 

Seniors Jenna Goldsberry and Desi Martin are also back to patrol the outsides, along with fellow senior libero Alex Bollier, who will help to defend the back line with junior libero Amanda Jaramillo.  Junior setters Kaitlin Powell and Kalea Vizmanos will fill the void at the setting position, splitting action with freshman Kira Zimmerman.

Junior Karah Griffiths and sophomore Chloe Fields-Owens, joined with freshmen Savanna Meinert and Sarah Clausen, will provide additional power on the outside as sophomores Jordan Hilst and Ally Wilder, and freshman Camille Boone brings height to the middle.

Building on a 2017 campaign that saw CPP go 13-12 with a 9-8 record in CCAA action, the Broncos were predicted to finish fifth in the CCAA South Division, the news was announced by the conference office Monday.

Friday's season-opening action at the Concordia Invitational in Irvine puts Cal Poly Pomona up against Azusa Pacific at 11:00 am, followed by a matchup with Colorado Mesa at 3:30 pm.  The Broncos round out the weekend on Saturday with matches against American International (8:45 am) and host Concordia-Irvine (3:30 pm).